Charlie's War
by Rita Arabella Black
Summary: Dark wizards have come to America. Charlie joins his friends as they battle evil forces with the help of Harry and Ginny.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

_A/N: This is an expansion of my story The Society of Fred that I posted earlier. Featured prominently, of course, is Charlie Weasley, who is (in my little world) living in America now. He's a professional quidditch player (Go Reds!) and works off season at the only dragon preserve in America. _

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling._

_Prologue_

**The Society of Fred**

**Founded by**

**Travis Davis,**** Homer "Tex" Patzche**** & Zelmer "Tex" Hollingsworth**

**In honor of Fred Weasley, a brave wizard who died fighting Dark Magic.**

**Dedicated and sworn to protect muggles and destroy dark wizards who dare to bring the Dark Arts to America.**

The signs of the approach of dark and evil magic were subtle and to the untrained and naïve, indiscernible. The air wore more heavily than before, like the approach of a storm that held the prospects of becoming a hurricane. One could feel something different in the air, but pinpointing its location and potential danger was almost impossible.

Lilith was online again, chatting with _DarkLordServant, _her internet boyfriend from England or Wales or somewhere out there. Lilith was a self proclaimed witch, a non-magical witch. Actually she was an old fraud who gypped poor unsuspecting muggles out of their money. She found a niche in selling witchcraft artifacts and fetishes to tourists in Austin, Texas.

The DarkLordServant, she must get more information about him, she reminded herself. A real wizard by the name of Charlie Weasley had told her all about dark magic and evil wizards who called themselves "death eaters." She would be ready to face all the dark wizards with no weapons except her wits. Unfortunately, that would be a short battle.

"When are you coming to visit?" she spoke to herself as she typed. "I miss you. We hardly got to talk at all last time."

She waited patiently for the script to appear on her computer screen. Taking a large bite of a gooey cream filled donut, she managed to drip the sticky substance on the front of her robes. Licking her fingers first, she scraped the cream into her mouth. Suddenly, on the screen was his message:

_DarkLordServant:__ I'll arrive tonight. I'm bringing some friends that I know you will like. Good-bye my darling._

Lilith gave a girlish giggle as the popped the remaining donut in her mouth. She couldn't believe that her boyfriend could be the evil bad guy that Charlie made him out to be. She would tell him about Charlie's outlandish accusations and they would have a good laugh.

Lilith signed off her computer and put it away. She didn't want her followers to know that she did something as mundane as chat online. She had a reputation as a witch to think of. Some of the "coven" were coming over that afternoon to chant and pray. She made a note to get some more of those scented candles out so she could sell them. She imported the lot from Mexico for less than 25 cents apiece which she sold for 19.95.

Her sister, Selene was sitting in the living room watching television and eating ice cream.

Lilith skipped into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. "He's coming tonight," she said almost giddy. "He's bringing some friends. Maybe he's got a guy for you."

"Didn't that wizard, Charlie warn you not to invite him here? He was worried he was a dark evil wizard," Selene said, pointing her spoon at her sister.

"Oh, pooh," she waved dismissively. "He couldn't possibly be bad. That Charlie was just trying to scare us. There was something odd about that man anyway." Lilith said.

"He was a real wizard. He used magic, real magic; not that bull shit you call magic." Selene said. After witnessing Charlie Weasley hurl her sister across the room and hang a man upside down using a wand and a spell. Charlie made a believer out of her.

A few minutes later, the visitors Lilith was expecting arrived. Six members of Lilith's and Selene's "coven" showed up at her door. They were wearing the traditional garb, long black dresses. Each girl's hair was dyed either raven black or platinum blond. They wore heavy eye makeup and black lipstick. They resembled a Goth musical group. Two young men, also dressed in black, followed them in. Only one member of the group knew them when Charlie Weasley and three of his wizard friends came to their house. That was Brandon, the boy who was hexed with the "levicorpus" jinx by Charlie Weasley. He apparently was hoping that the wizards would return. Who knew what the boy was thinking? Charlie had successfully scared off the rest of the "coven" when they witnessed the magic.

Charlie was visiting Austin on his way to the dragon preserve when his official American guides took him to visit what they described as "faux wizards"; ordinary muggles who fancied themselves to be non-magical witches. At first he, along with Travis and the two Tex's were amused by the group. Then the "witches" began chanting "All hail Lord Voldemort," and it got kind of ugly after that.

Charlie explained, after "stupefying" Lilith and hexing Brandon, that Lord Voldemort was the most evil and darkest wizard. He was not to be 'hailed' or remembered as a great and powerful wizard.

As bizarre as it sounded, Americans had not heard of the Dark Lord or the death eaters. They were naïve and had no concept of dark magic. If the dark art made its way into America, no one was safe. It appeared that a dark wizard was communicating with Lilith. Charlie had no idea if it was a real dark wizard or a muggle play acting. Dark wizards despised muggles and wanted to subjugate them. Charlie wanted to know what they were up to.

Although the three American wizards were skeptical, they stood by Charlie as he described Lord Voldemort's reign of terror and how he was killed by the powerful wizard, Harry Potter. He explained that Lord Voldemort's followers, called death eaters, were defeated by members of the Order of the Phoenix. He told them that his own brother Fred was killed that night fighting the death eaters.

The members of the "coven" didn't stay too long because Lilith begged off saying she had a headache. They stayed long enough to chant a little and buy ritual candles. Lilith told them to come by the next day. Disappointed, the group did as they were told.

Lilith's boyfriend didn't show up until it was almost midnight. Selene had already gone to bed, but Lilith was napping on the sofa. The wizard apparated in her living room. As promised he did bring three wizards and a witch along.

"I told you she would be waiting for me," he said to his companions. "The stupid cow."

Lilith was shocked now and completely awake. "What? Ares, is that you?"

"Ah, you're awake," he said coldly. "Get up and meet my friends." He pointed to his the witch, "This is Muireann Angharad, a very dear friend of mine." Ares stroked Muireann's face seductively. "You will make her welcome, won't you?"

The witch smiled at him, closing her eyes, as her stroked her. She was much younger than Lilith. Her skin was pale and flawless and her hair fell sensually around her face. Her eyes were coal black and not kind. She wore a flowing gown of the palest brown. It accentuated her figure. Next to Muireann, Lilith did resemble a cow.

Ares bent his head, with his eyes on Lilith and began kissing the woman passionately. She responded, moaning slightly at his touch.

Lilith stared at them in disbelief. "Ares? What's going on?"

'I told you she was stupid." Ares said with disgust to the others, as he reluctantly pulled away from Muireann. The witch looked at him disappointedly and then turned to look at Lilith. She was smirking.

The three other wizards laughed. They were a very strange lot. They were hooded, so Lilith couldn't tell what they looked like. When they removed their hoods, Lilith was surprised to see that they men standing before her were triplets. They looked so much alike, they could be clones rather than brothers. Their hair was light, sandy colored, thinning on top. Their eyes were the palest of blue in color, but cloudy, like they had cataracts. They faces were bony and their noses were elongated, straight and pointy. They reminded Lilith of the character actor, Peter Cushing, but a younger version.

"My dear friends and I have been in hiding since that bastard Harry Potter and his asinine friends destroyed the greatest wizard of all time. We are not welcome at home any longer, so we decided it is our destiny to preserve the legacy of the Dark Lord here in America where he will be adored and revered in death. We have every intention of carrying out our Dark Lord's vision.

"Alas, if Lord Voldemort had one flaw, it was that he was too merciful and generous with muggles. We assure you that we will not make that mistake." With that, Ares pointed his wand at Lilith.

"_Crucio!" _he shouted and Lilith began to scream. The pain in her head was indescribable. She felt like her head was going to explode. She could not speak the pain was so intense. She wanted to beg for mercy for him to end her suffering, but she could not.

The witch watched her with lazy indifference. The triplets watched with greedy anticipation. They laughed at her suffering, anxious to help Ares inflict the pain that the cruciatus curse inflicted.

"_Exsisto silens_!" he said with another flick of her wand, and she was immediately struck mute. The pain still reflected in her eyes, but she could not utter a sound.

"We wouldn't want to disturb the neighbors, now would we?"

When it appeared that her nerve endings were dying, he released the spell, and she fell breathing heavily. Still could not speak, her eyes were filled with question and terror. Why, she asked him silently, pleading for mercy.

"Why, Snookums?" he said affectionately. "Let's just say because I can. You're a sorry excuse for a human, so inferior. You need to be ruled. It's apparent that you don't have the intelligence to take care of yourself. You're only good for one thing—"

Her eyes widened again.

"Not for sex," he said, disgustingly. "Although I'll admit my friends here do enjoy a little muggle pussy from time to time." His crude words shocked her. "But I'm afraid they are not very gentle. Too impatient I think. I, for one, would never touch a filthy muggle. Those times when I was forced to play the attentive lover literally made me sick. I threw up afterward. Dear, sweet Muireann was the only thing that cleansed me." He looked at Muireann adoringly.

"So, why did I choose you? You must be wondering. Well, I needed a portal. The laws of magic are too complex for your little pea sized brain, but all our avenues were blocked so I had to use an alternative. I discovered the ingenious device called the internet, and found the right kind of muggle I was looking for, and the rest, was easier than you could possibly imagine.

"The wonderful, most delightful part is that American wizards have no idea who we are and that we are here now. We've caught them completely off guard and America is ripe for the pickings. We can recruit many wizards and they won't know what hit them."

Lilith struggled to regain her voice. She shook her head violently. Finally, Ares released the spell.

She jumped up. "You're wrong! They already know about you. They are ready to fight you. I know I saw them. You're not going to win."

Muireann looked at her. "She's lying," she said in a bored tone.

"No I'm not. There's one wizard. He knows about you. He tried to warn me."

"You don't know any wizards. You're playacting, calling yourself a witch," Ares laughed. "You're disgusting. _Crucio!_"

Lilith began to scream, writhing in pain.

"What's going on?" The wizards turned. Selene walked into the room. Looking frightened, she was carrying a baseball bat. "Lilith!" she screamed when she saw her sister lying on the ground, obviously being tortured.

Muireann lazily flicked her wand and the bat shot out of her hands. Stunned, she backed away.

"Charlie was right!" she said to her sister. "He was right!"

"Charlie? Who are you talking about?" Ares asked.

"Let my sister go," she pleaded. "I'll tell you."

Ares shrugged. "Tell me first," he added a sadistic flick to his wand and Lilith screamed louder. "Poor, poor Lilith, you can save her from all this unnecessary pain. Tell me about Charlie."

"I'm sorry," she looked at her sister.

Lilith shook her head violently. "No! Please, Selene, please don't. He's our only hope."

"I don't think so," Ares said, "You, my dears are without hope. Where's your Harry Potter now?"

Selene had heard that name before. Charlie told her all about the powerful wizard who destroyed the Dark Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. It was all true.

"You're going to have to kill me," Selene said braver than she felt.

"Okay." Muireann said. She pointed her wand at her and said, "_Avada Kedavra!_"

Without another single word, Selene fell where she stood, dead.

Their attention turned to Lilith, who turned sheet white. Ares released her from the cruciatus curse. She made a run for the back door, but she was frozen in place with a body binding curse.

"Okay, Snookums, let's say I believe you about this Charlie character. Is he a real wizard?"

She nodded.

"Tell me what you know," he whispered seductively in her ear. "Tell your master all about this Charlie. You want to tell me, don't you? It'll make you feel so much better."

Lilith's eyes went suddenly out of focus. She had a dull glazed look about her.

"Ares," Muireann complained. "Why can't we just torture it out of her? This isn't any fun. You promised me it'd be fun. I'm bored."

"Later, my love," he kissed her. "You can torture all the muggles you desire, but right now this muggle has information that we need, and we don't have the time. I'm sure the neighbors have heard her screams by now."

"Well, all right, if you promise." Muireann was placated for the moment. "But hurry up, then, so we can go."

One of the triplets pointed to Selene. "Can we have her?"

"Not this time. She wouldn't give you much of a struggle, her being dead and all."

"Oh, right. We see your point." He nodded, and the other two nodded as well.

Ares turned away from them and rolled his eyes. Oh well, he thought, you use what you've got, even if they aren't very bright.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes, Lilith, you want to tell me all about Charlie."

"He came to our house with three other wizards. He was English. He told us all about Lord Voldemort and how the powerful wizard, Harry Potter killed him in a great battle somewhere. He said you were evil. He was very angry. Made me promise that I would find out more about you and let him know. I didn't believe him." Her tone was dull and lifeless.

"Who were the other wizards?"

"Friends."

"Where are they?" he asked, beginning to get impatient.

"I don't know. They just show up sometime. Charlie's only been here once. The others come from time to time."

"Okay," he said. He nodded. The news wasn't good, but it wasn't devastating either. "American wizards had no concept of evil, not like English wizards. They had never faced dark magic. That is, until now.

"I'm finished with the bitch," he said to the triplets. "You can have her now."

The three's eyes lit up as they walked toward the bound woman.

The next morning, Brandon knocked on the sisters' door. He was supposed to get a ride to San Antonio with them to pick up some supplies for their shop. He knocked hard, but there was no answer. He tried the door, and to his surprise, it opened.

When he walked in, he saw Selene, crumpled on the floor. There wasn't a mark on her. She died with a look of surprise on her face. Probably a heart attack, but where was Lilith? He called out to her, but the house was deadly quiet. The only sound was the ancient grandfather clock in the parlor. He picked up the baseball bat that lay next to Selene, and made his way to the kitchen. The sight was ghastly. Lilith was spread eagled on the table, a drying towel stuffed in her mouth. Her robes were pushed up to her neck. There were burn marks and scratch marks and bite marks over her entire body. Surprising from the amount of damage, there was little blood. It looked like the dried blood on the table had been wiped up with a small sponge. He was horrified. It looked like the blood had been lapped up with someone's tongue, because it was smeared on her thighs and breasts.

He threw up in the sink. Shaking violently, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called 9-1-1. After he spoke with the police, he hung up and dazed, he walked through the house, being careful not to touch anything. The house was in pristine condition, like there was no struggle or invasion. His first thought was to call someone else. He dialed the only other number he could think of, a bar on 6th Street. This was the only bar he knew that never closed.

"Is Travis there?" he asked.

"Who wants to know?" asked a surly voice.

"Tell him it's Brandon. And something bad has happened."


	2. Chapter 2 The Fan

_A/N: Evil has finally come to America. It is up to Charlie and the Society of Fred to stop the evil dark wizards from taking over America._

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 2—The Fan

Charlie Weasley was just coming in from a sweep of the North rim, anxious to get cleaned up and meet up with his friends. He had been home for less than a week and he was happily back at work as gamekeeper at the North American Dragon Preserve.

Charlie Weasley was finally at home. He had just returned to the Dragon Preserve from a disappointing quidditch season with his team, the North American Red Dragons. They won the North American Tournament which was a qualifier for the World Quidditch Cup. After protests from other European clubs, the Reds were disqualified from competing because the Americans were under the North American League and abided by their rules. If the team had adopted the English rules, he and his team mates would be in England right now. The North American League had five years to adopt English rules or be permanently disenfranchised.

Charlie was able to take a month off and visit his parents at the Burrow. Seeing his family helped with his mood, but he had no desire to live in England. He was more at home in the desert than anywhere he had ever been. His parents weren't pleased that he would be living in America after quidditch season, but they didn't try to talk him out of it. Ginny was more supportive than the rest of the family, but then he and Ginny were very much alike. She shared his spirit of adventure. She told him that she would visit him in America one day.

Tonight Charlie was going on his first date since swearing off muggle women. Swearing off wasn't the right word since he was the one dumped by his muggle girlfriend. Most of his friends tried to fix him up with single witches (usually at the women's insistence) but he had no trouble finding female companionship. When the celebrity wizarding magazines reported that he had broken up with his muggle girlfriend, witches from all over began trying to get his attention. Although he was not interested in a permanent relationship now or ever, but finding a girlfriend wasn't completely out of the question.

He and Jack were going out that evening on a double date. Jack dated co-workers. Charlie did not, but he agreed to go out with one of Jack's date's friend. Technically, she wasn't a co-worker, but if things didn't work out, it still might turn ugly. Women always stuck together and he was usually the one blamed when something did go wrong.

Charlie found Jack waiting for him in the bunk house. He was all "prettied" up. He had combed his hair and even combed his wiry mustache. Charlie barely recognized his friend. Jack was nervous. He kept twirling his hat around in his hands.

"Don't act too anxious," Charlie advised. "It makes you seem desperate."

"I am desperate," Jack said. "I haven't had a date in a long time."

"Me either," Charlie said, grinning. "But the girls don't have to know that. Relax. What's the worst that can happen?"

"That I'll get a huge boner while I'm saying hello to her."

Charlie laughed. "Easily worked to your advantage. Don't worry about it. Unless your dick's the size of a dragon's penis, I doubt anyone will notice, and if she does, blame it on her."

Jack rolled his eyes and laughed. He was beginning to relax a little.

"What's your date's name?" Charlie asked. "And where does she work?"

"Her name Helene, and she works in the front office, scheduling. I have no idea what her friend's name is. If she said, I wasn't paying attention. Don't expect too much, okay?" He said, nervously. "I have no idea who she's invited."

Charlie shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me what she looks like."

"Really?" Jack said, incredulously.

"Really," Charlie said sincerely. "As long as they don't cackle or snort. I really don't like witches who laugh for no reason. Drives me up a wall. And I really like to have a stimulating conversation with the young lady before I nail her." Jack looked at Charlie and nodded, but burst out laughing when he saw that his friend was pulling his leg.

"You really had me going there," Jack chuckled. "And the sad part is you probably will nail her before the end of the evening and I'll just be stuck with a hard-on."

Jack had arranged to meet Helene and her friend in a wizard cantina in Mexico. Mexico had a larger wizard population and there was a huge wizard community outside the muggle _cuidad_.

The cantina was almost empty when he and Jack arrived. The women weren't there yet. Jack sat down at a table that faced the door so that he would be able to see them when they arrived. Charlie sat down across from him. He waved to get the waitress's attention.

"_Dos tequilas, por favor," _he said to the waitress.

"Yes, sir," she said. "Right away. ¿_Quiere usted ver un menú_?"

"Not right now, He said politely. "G_racias_."

The waitress smiled sweetly at him. "Let me know when you are ready to order and I'll bring you a menu."

They waited for over half an hour before Helene walked in with her friend. Helene's friend looked slightly flustered when she was introduced. Her name was Gyneth. She was pretty but not drop dead gorgeous. She had a shy smile. She wasn't totally at ease yet, but Charlie was sure she would warm up to him.

Jack's plan was obviously to ply Helene with alcohol and get her and himself drunk. She wanted to dance, so he spent most of the evening on the dance floor. Charlie didn't dance. He was sure that Gyneth wanted to, but Charlie knew his one weakness with witches was that he couldn't or refused to dance. It was a Weasley defect gene that he inherited from his father.

The evening was going along pretty well; Jack and Helene were getting along better than Jack could have hoped. Gyneth and Charlie were talking, although she was incredibly shy, it was difficult to draw anything out of her. He found out that both of her parents were witches, and like most American wizards, she had been home schooled. She had five sisters and one brother and both of her parents were living. She lived with two of her sisters and she's known Helene since she was a child. She loved quidditch and had never seen a real dragon.

After a while, she relaxed; maybe a bit too much. She had heard of Charlie from quidditch, which is why she was nervous around him to begin with. She read the celebrity magazines and knew most everything that the magazines had told her. She had a poster of him in her room and a magazine cover with a picture of him with his shirt off, wiping the sweat from his face with his shirt (That was her favorite). She wanted to know about the black heart tattoo over his heart, whether it was for his true love that had died or dumped him (two conflicting stories). And she wanted to see the dragon tattoo wanted to know if he had a Golden snitch tattoo on his back.

Charlie was getting more uncomfortable as the night dragged on. Her questions were getting more and more personal. She gave her opinion about Jessica—his former muggle girlfriend and asked for details about their lovemaking ("I'm curious, do they make love like we do?") And what about Joanna Morgan, the Reds chaser? Was it true that she was now his girlfriend? Was she good in bed?

Now he was just annoyed. "Look," he said, clearing his throat. "I'm flattered and all that you're interested in me and my accomplishments, but I don't kiss and tell. My personal life is nobody's business but mine and the young lady's. In fact, when I take you out back and fuck you, nobody but the two of us will know about it."

Gyneth's face turned bright red. She blinked and stuttered, "No, I, uh, I, don't, uh, no."

For a brief moment Charlie thought she was going to agree to go out back with him, but she was too flustered.

"No?" he said taking a quick shot of the tequila, following by salt and lime. "Well, okay then, if you're sure. And for the record, the black heart tattoo is in honor of my brother Fred who was killed."

He stood up and grabbed his cloak. "Well, if we ain't going to fuck, I've got to go. A real pleasure meeting you." He bent down and kissed her solidly on the lips. He passed Jack and Helene on the dance floor and whispered something to Jack. He kissed Helene on the cheek and walked outside.

He ran into a few people who were going into the cantina, excused himself and pulled on his cloak as he walked down the street. He knew of a bar not too far from the cantina. He was friendly with the bar tender, who was an American. He wasn't quite ready to go home yet, and there's no way he could have stayed at the cantina listening to that woman any longer. Knowing all those details (whether correct or incorrect) of his life and relationships gave him the creeps.

Charlie felt the wind change. The air had suddenly become heavy. He felt the pressure in his chest, the feeling he always got before a storm, or the feeling he kept when there was evil around him. He closed his eyes and smelled the air. He prayed that there was only a desert storm brewing.

He was heading into the small bar when he saw it. It was a silver dog coming right at him. He recognized the patronus at once. It was Travis Davis's, his wizard friend from Austin. He followed the patronus into an alley. In Travis's voice it said, "Charlie, I think it's beginning. I need you. Follow the patronus." The dog turned and Charlie followed it until it and he disappeared.

The patronus reappeared at the home he recognized. It belonged to two sisters who called themselves witches, but they didn't have a magical bone in their bodies. They had been quite unaware that magic and wizards were real.

The house was dark. There was yellow tape strewn across the perimeter and across the doors. Travis stepped out into the light of the street light. Travis was visibly upset.

Charlie shook Travis's hand. "What happened to the sisters?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"It was horrible. Lilith was, I don't know, what you'd call it, mangled, violated. Tortured. The other sister, well it looks like nothing. She may have had a heart attack when she saw the intruders. I just don't know. The muggle police just left, and they've removed their bodies." Travis rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"I need to see the where they were," Charlie said. "Did you find them?"

Travis shook his head. "That muggle boy, Brandon. He called me on the telephone at number I gave him. Charlie, you were right. God, I'm so sorry. We should have done more." Travis began to sob, uncontrollably.

"There's absolutely nothing you could have done. I'm glad you got in touch with me. Let's go in the house." Charlie pointed his wand at the front door, and said, "_Alohomora."_ The front door unlocked and Charlie pushed the door open gingerly. He went inside with Travis behind him.

"Where were they?" Charlie asked. Travis pointed to the area in the front room where he had found Selene.

"There. She was just dead. She had a surprised look on her face, but no contortions or anything thing." Travis said, trying hard to put into words what she looked like.

"It sounds like the killing curse. I don't know, maybe she did have a heart attack. Where did you find Lilith?"

"In here," He lead Charlie into the small kitchen.

Charlie pointed his wand, "_Lumos_," he said and a light erupted from the tip of his wand.

Lilith's body had been removed, but the evidence that she was brutalized was apparent.

"Can you tell me what you saw?" Charlie asked.

"She was lying there on the table. She was covered in cuts and bite marks. She'd been sodomized and raped. It was horrible. Nobody deserved that."

"I need to see the bodies. Where did they take them?" Charlie asked.

"I guess they're still at the morgue. I'm sure they'll try to figure out how they died." Travis said, wiping his eyes with his hands.

"Can you take me there?" Charlie asked.

"Now?" Travis asked and Charlie nodded.

"I can tell if it was a killing curse or not. Are you ready?" Charlie looked at his friend encouragingly. "It'll be all right." He said.

They apparated inside one of the cold storage units at the city morgue. Charlie and Travis found Selene first. Charlie bent over the body and looked at it closely. Finally, after a long while, he stood up. "It looks like the killing curse to me. No obvious trauma. Help me find Lilith."

They wondered around the morgue until they found her body. Charlie gasped audibly when he pulled the sheet away from her naked body. Travis was right. She had been brutalized and tortured. She had been burned and there were puncture marks on her.

"This is bad. Look at the puncture marks. I think she her killer was a vampire. A very dangerous one. He must have been deranged. The violence is unbelievable." Charlie shook his head sadly. "She must have really suffered. Death was a blessing after what she went her through."

Travis stared at him. Did he say vampire?


	3. Chapter 3 Recruits

_A/N: Charlie begins the arduous task of recruiting wizards to fight the dark wizards. How can he get Americans to believe that the face of evil is upon them?_

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 3—Recruits

"I've lived in Romania a long time," said Charlie, looking closer at Lilith's body. "Believe me; I recognize vampire bites when I see them. Whoever did this has to be more than deranged. It looks like there was more than one. They kind of feasted before they tortured her."

"Do you know any vampires?" Travis asked.

Charlie shook his head. "I'm not sure. Before the war there were a few known. After the war, the Ministry of Magic in Bulgaria made vampirism against the law and a lot of them were rounded up and destroyed. Only a handful were actually wizards as well as vampires. Most were just human, well, you know."

"I don't think there are any vampires here in America." Travis said.

"Don't count on that. The little buggers are everywhere. I remember reading in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class about a group living in remote areas in the southern United States and in Mexico. But I don't think these were local boys. Vampires tend to stay away from urban areas. They have a very good sense of self-preservation."

There was a noise outside the cooler.

"Someone's coming. We need to get out of here." Travis said. "Take my arm." Charlie held on to his arm and they disapparated.

They apparated in an alley. It smelled of vomit and urine. "Let's go inside." Travis said, pointing to a side entrance. They walked inside a dimly lit bar.

"My home away from home," Travis said. "I need a drink."

They made their way to a small booth obscured from the rest of the bar. "Go ahead and sit down I'll get us a bottle." Travis said.

When Travis returned he was carrying two glasses and a large bottle of tequila. He sat down and poured a generous amount for Charlie and himself.

"Is this a muggle bar?" Charlie asked, downing the tequila, then looking around the bar.

Travis nodded. It's actually owned by my aunt and uncle. "My parents are muggles." He explained.

"Are you the only magical one in your family?"

"No, my sister's a witch and I have a great grandfather who was a wizard. Oh!" he said, excitedly. "My sister would make a good recruit. Amanda's kind of an activist."

"How many others? We need a lot of good guys." Charlie said.

"Well," thought Travis. "There's the two Tex's. Remember them? They were with me from the beginning. So, counting my sister, I guess four. So, how many dark wizards do you figure?"

Charlie shrugged. "No idea. I would say there's a head guy and a bunch of flunkies, at least one of whom is a vampire. And the vampire is probably a wizard."

"Do you think they will try to recruit witches and wizards here?"

"Oh, yeah, probably adolescents. So I'm guessing there's also a witch with them. They use sex a lot in recruiting."

"And we've got you!" Travis said enthusiastically.

"Well, I'm not into sex with adolescent boys."

"No! You're a famous quidditch player. Wizards will believe you. You'll be perfect." Travis said excitedly.

"Okay, I can recruit. I did that in Romania for the Order of the Phoenix. And I'm a warrior, but I'm no trainer." He thought for a minute. "I know who we can get." He said.

"Who?"

"Harry Potter."

Travis's eyes got real big. "You mean the powerful wizard who defeated Lord Voldemort? _The_ Harry Potter?"

Charlie nodded. "He's practically engaged to my sister, Ginny. And Ginny! She's a great witch. I know she'll do it and I'm sure she will talk Harry into helping. He really hates the dark arts."

Charlie pursed his lips together. "It would help if we had the newspapers on our side. I know they don't believe in dark magic. You Americans are so naïve. We need someone who is on our side. I know a reporter. She writes for one of those celebrity magazines, but she owes me a favor.

"We need to find out the extent of the damage done to muggles. Lilith and Selene were just practice for the new dark lord, I think. It's going to get worse. We have to pay attention to muggle news. You have a better connection than I do." Charlie said.

Travis nodded. "Of course I'll do it. Do you think it's just here in Austin?"

"For now. There may be others out there in big cities. That's what we need to find out. America is like a new frontier for dark wizards. There's a lot of potential here." Charlie said.

Charlie was beginning to believe that they could get a group together to fight if needed. He was certain that he was taking the prudent approach. American wizards needed to learn what it was like to live in fear. He liked the American spirit. They would fight back if they believed they were being threatened.

"Can you make it to the funeral?" Travis asked suddenly. "It's day after tomorrow."

Charlie looked at Travis. Travis was devastated with the deaths of the sisters. He believed that Travis felt somewhat responsible, but Charlie did all he could to convince Lilith to be cautious when it came to communicating with the wizard online.

"Of course I'll be there. Just let me know when and what time. Travis, as soon as I can make the arrangements for training, we'll get together again. I'll stay in touch." Charlie said.

Travis shook his hand. "Thank you, Charlie."

When Charlie got back to the bunk house, Jack was waiting up for him. He was worried about him when he disappeared earlier in the evening.

"What happened with you and Gyneth?" Jack asked. "Helene is pissed off at you. You broke Gyneth's heart."

Charlie shook his head. "The woman was mental. She was apparently my biggest fan. It was disturbing. We could have hooked up if she wasn't so, uh, keen on my life story."

"You've never dated a fan before?"

"I've had sex with them, but never 'dated' them. There's usually a mutual understanding. I wish that you would have given me a heads up."

Jack said, "I didn't know, I swear. I thought it was just a date. Anyway, where'd you go?"

Charlie wasn't exactly sure if he was ready to explain to his friends his obsession with fighting dark magic. They were good wizards, but he was reminded of a friend he knew at Hogwarts that got religion. The wizard turned into a zealot, and others couldn't stand to be around him because he was always preaching to everyone and was very judgmental. Never mind that he was probably right, he was just annoying. Charlie wanted to be able to offer substantial proof of the existence of dark arts, not mere speculation. Trouble was, he wasn't exactly sure how he could pull that one off.

Charlie sighed. "I met up with an old friend I haven't seen in a while. I'll apologize to Helene and to Gyneth. Next time, warn me, okay? I'm tired," he said, yawning. "I'm going to bed."

Later that night, Charlie wrote a long letter to his sister, Ginny. Overseas communication was very complicated, and it took a lot longer than regular owl delivery. Overseas owls flew the most direct route over the Arctic Circle. It was very risky, but there weren't too many alternatives that he knew about anyway. He didn't know when she would get his letter or how long it would take for her to respond. Strike up another disadvantage of living half a world away.

In his letter, he explained why he believed that dark wizards were settling in America and that his friends had founded the Society of Fred, a secret society named in Fred's honor to fight dark forces in America. He was committed to helping them, and he hoped that she and Harry would come to America and help train the wizards in defense against the dark arts.

"It is unbelievable," he wrote. "That Americans have never heard of Lord Voldemort, death eaters, or dark and evil wizards. They are about to get a dose of reality, for which they are not prepared."

The next day, Charlie went to work before he got a chance to talk to Jack or Pete. Jack was a little insecure and would think he was mad at him about something. The truth was, Charlie was still a little pissed off at him and Helene, so it was better than not to say anything. He was also concentrating on what he needed to do to get the recruiting off the ground.

He had routine work that day. The research team had written their final parchment on the American Red study, so there was really nothing left for him to do but check the boundaries for intruders. The preserve usually had to rescue several truckloads of muggles who had gotten lost and were about to become verdemalos' or flying demons', the other species of dragons in the preserve, lunch. It was actually a quiet day. He flew around the eastern and northern rims, but didn't spot any intruders. After his shift was over he went into the boss's office to ask for the next day off so he could attend the sisters' funeral.

He wasn't looking forward to it, but he knew he had to get in touch with the one reporter he knew, Diane Gentry. She had written a rather scandalous piece about him hoping to get him knocked off the quidditch team. Charlie had replaced her boyfriend as seeker when he was hired on. Later, after he proved himself to be an outstanding team member and one of the best seekers in American quidditch, Diane apologized and promised to be fair.

He went to her apartment that evening. He had sent her a message, so she was expecting him. He didn't like to go anywhere uninvited, especially to Diane's home. He didn't fully trust her. He was sure there was some kind of angle that he needed to be wary of.

When she opened the front door, she smiled shyly. She leaned against the door, peering out.

"Charlie Weasley," she said looking him up and down. "Aren't you a sight? Come in. Do you want a drink?"

The last time they had a drink together, they ended up in bed. He didn't like to repeat past mistakes, so he shook his head.

"No thanks. You look great." He said. He couldn't think of anything else complimentary. He followed her inside and stood until she told him to sit down. She patted the cushion next to her.

"Sit down. Relax. I won't bite." It sounded like bravado, like she was trying to be braver than she really was. He let that pass and sat down on the chair across from her.

"You look good," she said. Obviously she had had a bit much to drink that evening. Did he really make her that nervous, he wondered.

"Thanks, you do, too," he said honestly. He cleared his throat. "So, how've you been?"

"Good. I nearly got canned right after, well, let's just say I've got to prove to my publishers that I'm not deranged or something like that. I had no idea how much influence you wielded."

"It wasn't me. It was my boss, Guy Bingly." He said.

"Oh, that's right," she said rather drunkenly. "Well, we all know that galleons speak louder than the quill."

"Look, Diane, I'm sorry things are shitty for you right now, but I need your help. If you're looking for a real news story, I think I can help you out."

She rested her chin in her left hand. "I'm listening."

Charlie took a deep breath. "What do you know about the dark arts?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing," she said.

"Okay, what about dark wizards?" he asked.

Diane took a drink from the glass she held on to. "Sounds vaguely familiar, I guess."

"Okay. I want you to come with me tomorrow. I'm going to a muggle funeral. Two sisters were murdered by dark wizards and they have to be exposed."

She sniffed and leaned back. "And what's in it for me?"

"A hell of a good story. I need you to trust me. I know that's hard with our history, but I promise you, this is something that's worthwhile. Can I depend on you?"

She looked at him for a long time. Apparently she was weighing her options. Charlie Weasley had never lied to her. She knew he didn't like her very much, but despite the bad blood, she did trust him.

He stood up. "If you could do some research on death eaters and Lord Voldemort and the Battle of Hogwarts, and Harry Potter, you'll understand what I'm talking about. Will you do that?" He looked into her eyes. "Please. I'll explain everything tomorrow. I'll pick you up. The funeral's in Austin."

"Okay, Weasley, I'll do it. This had better be good," she said.

"Thank you," Charlie said. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, yes?"

"Yes," she repeated.

"Can you remember the names I gave you?"

She nodded and repeated the names.

Charlie relaxed. "Thank you." He kissed her cheek and left.

After he had gone, she stared at the door, touching her cheek.

Charlie didn't sleep well that night. He tossed and turned and dreamed of Lord Voldemort. He was at the Battle of Hogwarts and he lost his wand. He could have saved Fred, but he couldn't find his wand. Not only that, but his parents were hit with the killing curse and they lay next to Fred. The bodies kept piling up. Next it was his brother Bill, then Ron, then George and finally Ginny. He was powerless to help them. Voldemort stood over him and asked him why he didn't save his family. "It's your fault they're dead," Voldemort said, pointing at him. "You killed them. You're a dark wizard, Charlie Weasley. Join me. It is your destiny."

"No!" Charlie screamed. He woke up covered in sweat, and he realized that he was crying out. Jack looked at him strangely but didn't say anything.

"Sorry," Charlie said, raking his hands through his hair. "Bad dream."

Jack went back to sleep, but Charlie got up. He tried being very quiet because no one had stirred and it was several hours until sun up. He wished he could get some sleep. It was going to be a long day.

Travis met Charlie outside a small chapel in a cemetery. He had never attended a muggle funeral so he wasn't sure what to expect. The two Tex's were there. And so was Brandon and Chloe, a woman Charlie met the first time he visited the sisters' house.

There was a frail looking woman and an old man sitting in the front row of the chapel. They were the sisters' parents. Charlie felt sad for them. Losing one's children had to be the worst thing for a parent to face. The sisters' followers were there as well. They stood in the back of the chapel, hesitant to view the bodies. Finally, one by one they streamed past the two caskets. The comments were that Selene looked like she was asleep. Whoever dressed the bodies had to use a lot of makeup to make Lilith look human. Charlie saw faded bruises and filled in puncture marks. The frail looking woman wept loudly for her daughters.

The minister motioned for everyone to be seated while he began his eulogy. He had known the sisters' parents for over thirty years. While he didn't know the sisters personally, he was sure they were finally at peace, resting in their Savior's arms. His words were soothing.

Charlie sat with Travis and the two Tex's and Travis's sister Amanda. They stayed toward the back of the chapel so they could get a good look at everyone there. Charlie thought he recognized one of the mourners as a muggle police officer. They were looking for suspects, obviously. Diane came in after the service started. She was as uncomfortable as the rest of the wizards were at the muggle funeral. She sat next to Charlie and smiled when he looked at her. She nodded slightly when he looked at her questioningly. She wanted to let him know that she had done the research he asked her to.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Look closely at the woman on the right. It was dark magic and vampires. You can tell. The woman on the left died from the killing curse. It doesn't leave a mark."

Suddenly, Charlie turned around and looked at the back of the chapel. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Five hooded figures had walked into the chapel. He felt the change in the air. They were there. The ones who killed Selene and Lilith were standing in the back of the chapel. He knew that they were there to admire their handiwork and probably to kill everyone in the chapel. He doubted that they knew there were wizards there. But unfortunately, none of them, except him knew any defensive spells. He slowly pulled out his wand and aimed it at the muggles. Using a nonverbal spell, he was able to put a protective charm around the muggles.

Diane looked at him as he pulled out his wand. She was clearly nervous, but determined to help. She reached inside her robes and held her wand handle, ready to pull it out if she needed to. Travis was suddenly aware of what was going on. He signaled the two Tex's and they, too, discreetly had their wands at the ready. Amanda was trying not to shake, but she was too nervous to do anything but shiver.

The figures in the back had not seen them yet. So, they were at a slight advantage with a element of surprise, but it was not enough since no one could help him in a battle. Maybe this time they could bluff their way through, he hoped.

Amanda was still shaking. Charlie smiled at her and touched her hand. He had a calming effect on her. She smiled shakily, and mouthed, "I'm sorry."

Charlie gave her an affectionate squeeze and nodded at her reassuringly. Everything would be all right, he said with his eyes. She let out a calming breath and nodded.

Charlie was waiting on the hooded ones to make a move. He didn't want to give up his advantage. He felt the tension in the air as the breeze shifted and died. They were making their move. He motioned for the others to get ready.

The tallest hooded figure threw back his hood and aimed his wand at the crowd of mourners. Charlie and the others leapt up, wands up. He shouted a curse, "**_Expelliarmus!"_**** The dark wizard's wand flew out of his hands. The wizards were taken aback but quickly recovered. The witch shot a curse at the crowd, but it bounced off because of the protective charm Charlie had used. The triplets started toward them, but Charlie pointed at the middle wizard and shouted the only curse he knew would stop vampires: "****_Sectumsempra!"_**** Immediately the middle triplet's face and torso was slashed and blood poured from the wounds. The triplet's brothers made a odd noise and were distracted by the blood pouring out. They immediately jumped on their brother, lapping up the spurting blood.**

**Charlie hit the witch with a stunning spell, which she deflected. Charlie wished his companions knew some sort of spell to help him out, but they simply looked stunned.**

**"Help me," he shouted. **

**Diane pointed her wand at the witch and repeated the stunning spell that Charlie had used. It worked. The witch was knocked back Travis tried to remember a spell that would help, but he couldn't think of one. The two Tex's used a spell that picked up the bleeding triplet and made him float in the air. It was better than nothing, thought Charlie.**

**"Ares," the witch shouted. "Let's get out of here."**

**Ares and **Muireann turned to run. Two of the triplets were still distracted by their brother's blood loss, but they grabbed hold of him, still after the flowing blood, and turned around, dragging their half-dead brother out the chapel door. Ares looked at the wizards in front of him. He would be back, he said with a murderous look. They, too disappeared outside the door.

Panic overtook the muggles. They were encased in a protective charm that they couldn't see, or penetrate. They were bouncing against the protection until Charlie decided it was the right time to release them.

Tex One ran outside to keep an eye on the wizards, but they had disapparated before he had the chance to follow them. He wanted to follow them, but Charlie called him back. There would be plenty of time to chase them later.

After Charlie released the protective charm, Diane gave them a memory charm, so they wouldn't remember anything. This group was still in danger, but at least Charlie and the others could protect them now.

The room had quieted down. Charlie turned to the group, "Well done. All of you. Now are there any doubts that what you saw was evil?"

They collectively shook their heads. The adrenaline rush spent, they raised their wands high in the air, elated. This band had frightened off the wizards. But Charlie knew that they would return.


	4. Chapter 4 Preparing for Battle

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 4—Preparing for Battle

Charlie put a memory charm on the muggles and the funeral continued. He led the wizards outside of the chapel so they could talk.

They were running on pure adrenaline. Travis was the most upset. He kept repeating, "I couldn't do anything. I just stood there. I was totally worthless. You could've gotten killed."

Charlie reassured him. "There was nothing you could have done. That's why you need to be trained. Once you understand the dark arts, you'll be able to better fight them. You all were very brave. Well done!"

Diane asked, "Did you recognize any of them?"

Charlie shook his head. I don't think so. I fear that the triplets are vampires."

Diane nodded her head. "That spell you used, that was incredible. I've never seen anything like it."

"It is a dark spell. It was the only thing I could think of that might stop the vampires."

"Well, it worked. Did you kill him? Did the other two?"

"No," said Charlie. "But it did slow them down. It probably looked worse than it actually was. We'll see."

"Well?" asked Charlie. "Are you with me?"

"Absolutely!" was the response from Amanda, Travis and the two Tex's. Diane hesitated for a moment.

Finally, after a lot of thought, Diane slowly nodded. "I'll be with you behind the scenes. I think I can do some good writing about it. It's going to be a hard sell to the publishers who don't want to look at real news."

Charlie smiled at her warmly. "That would be perfect, Diane. Write what you see. We'll give you leads on stories. Can you write a piece on Harry Potter? His history, etc? Everyone from England knows his name. They may not want to remember the dark lord, but they will remember Harry Potter and what he did. I'll see if I can get you an exclusive interview. You're a good writer, Diane. People believe what you tell them. Now, just tell them the truth for a change."

"What about that story I started about you being in a secret society? It took a kind of nefarious tone, but I can turn it around, say I've investigated the allegations completely and worked in the dark arts angle and Harry Potter. I could say something like, 'The most evil dark wizard of all time and his followers were defeated by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What happened to the death eaters that escaped? What if they resettled here and are living among us ready to bring the vilest evil and dark magic to America?'"

"That's brilliant, Diane," Charlie said, enthusiastically. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her half hug. She turned pink and grinned shyly.

"This lot thought they had the element of surprise, I think. They had no idea about us. They'll be more vigilant now that they know we're out here. We must be very careful. Remember the dark wizards want to create chaos and mayhem. They want to terrorize wizards and especially muggles. They want to take away everyone's sense of security. They want us to live in fear. That's how they get off." Charlie looked at the small band of fellow wizards. "This is going to get a lot worse. But we can stop them."

At that moment, the funeral procession came out of the chapel. The two coffins were followed by the sisters' parents and the small band of followers. Brandon was at the end of the procession and he was holding Chloe's hand, leading her along the path to where the sisters would be buried. Travis and Charlie followed behind them, and Diane and the two Tex's behind them. Amanda looked like she wasn't quite sure what to do or where to go. Tex took her by her hand and they walked slowly behind.

The minister said some calming and final words and the coffins were lowered into the earth. Lilith and Selene's parents huddled together and stayed until the maintenance men began covering the graves.

Finally, when the others had started to walk away, Brandon walked up to Travis. He recognized Charlie, who nodded at him. Chloe recognized him as well, and looked at him cautiously.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Brandon," Charlie said sincerely. "We're here to help."

Since the muggles didn't remember the attack in the chapel earlier, Brandon assumed that they mean that they would help find who killed them. "The police are still asking questions, but they don't have any leads or anything. You still think it was dark magic?"

Travis nodded. "We're sure. I think whoever did this will come back. They may prey on Lilith's followers. You can reach me at the number I gave you." Travis had an idea.

"Do you know of a night club or bar that caters to, uh, your type of people?"

"You mean uh, non-magical wizards? Wiccan and Goths?"

Travis nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

Brandon nodded. "Sure. There's one bar on 6th Street that's kind of a like a Goth bar. A real cheesy place and I can think of a bar in Harker Heights, which isn't too far away. Sometimes we hang out there."

"What about wizard bars around here that caters to young witches and wizards? This is where they will go to recruit." Charlie said.

Amanda spoke up. "There are three or four wizard bars where young wizards hang out. I've been to two of them. A lot of young rebellious types. There was one, I can't think of the name of it, but I got into a conversation with a young witch who seem to have a real problem with the fact that I have muggle parents. I didn't stay long. I can tell you where it is. We could go there tonight if you want to." Amanda blushed.

"All right. I'd like to check out the muggle bars, too, just to get an idea what they look like and what the likelihood of the dark wizards showing up there.

"This is going to sound odd, Brandon, but are there any vampire bars around here? You know muggles who like to drink blood, that sort of thing?"

Brandon shrugged. "I have no idea about that. I could look it up on the internet."

"Okay," Charlie said, still unclear what the internet was.

"Travis, I'm going to need to get a place in town. Do you know of any places for sale around here in the wizard community?" He asked.

"You can stay with me. I have a four bedroom house."

Charlie nodded. "That would be great. Thank you. I live in a dormitory so I need a place for my sister and Harry. Could they stay with you as well?"

"Absolutely." Travis said.

"Thank you. I need to get back and let my boss know that I'll be taking some time off. I expect to hear from Ginny any day now. Do you want to meet tonight at your uncle's bar? We can figure out where we'll start."

Everyone agreed to meet later that evening. Charlie went back to the preserve and as he had expected, he had received a letter from Ginny. She and Harry would arrive in two days. Neither Ginny nor Harry had traveled to America before, and apparently it was a big deal for the Department of Magic to welcome the famous Harry Potter. Ginny warned Charlie that someone would make a big fuss about him visiting. Apparently they had to go through the Department of Magic, but at least there was a branch in Austin.

Ginny told Charlie that their mum was none too happy about them traveling together alone in a strange country. Ginny thought they would have a real adventure and was looking forward to seeing him. She couldn't believe that American wizards had never heard of the dark arts and especially Lord Voldemort. This was going to be harder than she thought.

That evening Charlie, Travis, and Amanda went to the wizards' clubs to find out if there was anything unusual going on. Amanda was right about the rebellious aspect of one of the clubs; there was definitely a dark atmosphere. Charlie believed that the dark wizard and witch had been there. There was evidence of some indoctrination, although Charlie had no idea to what extent. The club goers were less trusting of strangers than normal and the topic of purebloods and half-bloods and the inferiority of muggles was openly discussed.

Charlie talked to the bar owner, a wizard named Euan, and asked him if he had seen any unusual type around lately. Euan was a friendly enough wizard, but he didn't seem to be disturbed about the rumblings.

"A witch and wizard were in a couple of night ago. They talked to some of the regulars. I caught a little of the conversation, but didn't really pay attention. Something about wizards being better than muggles. Mostly drunken rants, I took it as. Happens a lot around here with the young crowd. The young ones what to establish their own identity. It's a rite of passage, I think; rebel against family and society." Euan said as he dried a glass and put it back with the other clean stemware.

Charlie wanted to know if anyone paid special attention to them. Euan shrugged.

"Maybe." He looked around the bar. In the back, sitting alone was a brooding young man who was nursing a very large bottle of firewhiskey. He nodded to the man and continued drying the glasses.

"I'll talk to him," Amanda volunteered. Before her brother could tell her no, she wandered off toward the young wizard. She sat next to him, and flirted with him. Travis was ready to stop her, but Charlie held him back.

"She'll be fine. Sit down over there. We'll get a good view of the place from there."

Still wary, Travis kept an eye on Amanda as they made their way to a table that had a good view of the whole bar and the entrance and exits.

Amanda flirted and cajoled. It took a long time before the wizard cracked a smile, but he eventually started to warm up to her. She flattered him and talked about how she had just broken up with her boyfriend because he wasn't a pureblood and he wasn't a real wizard in her eyes.

"You know what they call wizards who have muggle parents, don't you?" the young man said.

She shook her head. "Losers?" she answered.

"No," he said. "Mudbloods. Their blood is filthy. I for one would never touch a filthy Mudblood."

Amanda had never heard the expression before, and she was sure she didn't want to hear it again. It sounded demeaning. "I never heard that before. Where did you hear that term?"

The wizard sat up, clearly attentive now. "I met two of the most fascinating witch and wizard yesterday. They really opened my eyes. Mudbloods are taking over which is why we are losing our hold. Pretty soon, purebloods will be a thing of the past. Mudbloods want to protect muggles. Muggles are responsible for the near extinction of wizards in America. They persecuted wizards since Salem, and it's getting worse today. Purebloods have got to take our world back. We can rule over Mudbloods and muggles. We've been unable to do the kind of magic that we were born to do, but there one wizard who isn't afraid to stand up to those who would try to oppress us. There is magic out there that we can use against the oppression."

"Oh, wow," was all Amanda could say. "That sounds fascinating."

"Are you sure you're a pureblood?" he asked. Amanda thought he was just trying to confirm, that he wasn't suspicious of her.

Although she was shaking on the inside, she pulled his head up and kissed him so passionately that Charlie thought Travis was going to get up and beat the man to a pulp. He held him back.

"Do I feel like a dirty Mudblood to you?" she asked, breathlessly. Her hands were all over him.

"No," he said, slightly shaken.

"Damn," Charlie said. He was clearly impressed with Amanda.

Amanda and the wizard, whose name, she found out, was Brady Reed, spent the rest of the evening making out and talking huddled together. She convinced Brady that she had to meet this wizard and was dying to know more.

Unfortunately for Amanda, she didn't have an escape plan. The wizard was becoming more passionate, and was trying to convince her to leave with him. She was trying to stay friendly, but had no intentions of having sex with him. She shot her brother and Charlie a desperate look. Travis shot up to go to rescue her.

"What are you planning to do?" Charlie asked, grabbing his arm as he got up.

"I'm going to go get her." He said, trying to pull away from Charlie's grip.

"Okay." Charlie shrugged. "Go ahead. I've got your back." He released Travis who quickly walked over to Amanda and Brady. Travis was next to them. He grabbed Amanda by the arm.

"We have to go," he said irritably.

Brady looked at him. "Who are you?" He asked suspiciously. "Do you know this person?" Brady took an aggressive stance.

Amanda giggled and put her hand on Brady, separating him from her brother. "This is my brother. Here to rescue me."

She shook her head. "I'm not ready to go," she said. She signaled her brother silently that she really was ready to leave. She was in character and didn't want to raise any suspicions on Brady's part."You go on. Bye," she said, pushing him away.

"No," Travis said firmly. "We have to go. Now."

Before Amanda could respond, Brady had pulled out his wand. "I'll make sure she gets home safe and sound. She doesn't want to leave." He said very aggressively. Brady had sized him up and was sure he could take him on.

"No violence, please," Amanda said quickly. "I'd better go." She looked disappointed. She quickly wrote her address on a piece of parchment and gave it to him. "I'd like to see you again," she said coyly. "I want to meet this wizard, too. Send me a message, okay?"

"Later tonight?" he whispered as he tried to kiss her. Travis diverted him.

She shook her head. She leaned in closer to him. "Sorry. I'm staying with my brother tonight. Sorry. I have to. But I do want to see you again, okay?" She was saying as Travis dragged her off.

To any observer, Amanda looked like she was having an argument with her brother, but she was thanking him for the rescue. "That boy was creepy," she said quietly. "Let's get out of here before he changes his mind."

Once they got outside the bar, Charlie complimented her on her acting. "You had me convinced," he said. "Well done. What did you find out?"

"A witch and a wizard were at the club last night and they preached pureblood are being suppressed by muggles and Mudbloods, shit like that."

Charlie shuttered. "That's a very offensive term."

"I know. It sounds awful. Little did the prick know he was swapping DNA with the biggest Mudblood in Texas."

"Yuck," said Travis. Charlie laughed.

"For a moment there I thought maybe he could tell whether I was a pureblood, but he couldn't." She said.

"That's right. You can't tell." Charlie said. "It's all a bunch of bull shit. Let's get out of here before he comes looking for you."

"Did you give him your address?" Travis asked her as they started walking away from the club.

She nodded. "Yes, I did. That's why I'm going to be sleeping at your house for a while. I'll come back to the club tomorrow night and see if he's there. I really want to meet these people. Maybe I could be of more help if I got on the inside. You know, I could convince him that I wanted to become a follower, or whatever."

"That would be very dangerous." Charlie said.

"I know, but I think it's the only way. You need information and I know I could find it out for you. Let me do this, okay?"

Travis shook his head vehemently. "No. Not a chance."

Charlie looked at her. She knew what he was thinking and she knew she was right.

"What if they find out?"

"I'll make something up about my parents living in California or somewhere. They'll never know. Besides, Brady was more interested in, well, other things besides my bloodline. I can do this. I want to do this." Amanda was very convincing.

"All right, but you be very very careful. You must consider how dangerous this is." Travis said.

She grinned and kissed her brother on the cheek. "I know you'll rescue me if I get into trouble." She said happily.

"Thank you," Charlie said, taking her hand. He kissed her on her cheek. "I hope you understand what you're getting into."

She smiled and blushed. "I do."

The rest of the evening was spent at Travis's house. They expected to meet up with the two Tex's who had volunteered to go the muggle clubs to see if there had been any activity there. Charlie was sure they would make contact with the followers of Lilith and would in all likelihood destroy them.

Charlie looked at the time. It was very late, but still no word from them. Travis was getting worried.

Tex One showed up finally at four in the morning. He was shaking and clearly out of breath. There had been a disturbance at the club he went to right before they got there. The patrons had been terrorized by someone or something. The muggle police came and he and the other Tex were detained, along with some of the other patrons. He didn't know where Tex was and had no idea what exactly what happened.

They waited the rest of the early morning, but there was no sign of him. Travis went out to get a muggle newspaper. Maybe there was something about the disturbance in the club in the paper, Travis told them.

Amanda woke up after falling asleep on the couch. She had to go to work. She worked at the Department of Magic and said she'd try to get some information if she could.

"See if you can find out exactly when Ginny and Harry are coming in." Charlie said. "Ginny said they'd be there tomorrow."

Amanda nodded. "I will."

"Amanda," Charlie said as she was putting on her cloak. She turned and looked at him, smiling. "You're very brave. I appreciate your help."

She grinned. "You can give me an autograph when this is all over."

Charlie laughed. "Be careful out there."

Travis came in a few minutes later. He carried a handful of newspapers with him. "There're a couple of small police blotter articles about what happened at the club, but they aren't' specific. They tied some people up, and humiliated them. There's a report of a sexual assault. This is pretty vague." He went through the other newspapers, but there wasn't anything else.

It was almost 11 in the morning when the other Tex walked in. Everyone jumped up and ran to him.

"Zelmer!" Tex shouted. "Are you okay? What the hell happened?"

Tex Two collapsed on the sofa. "The muggle police arrested me for not carrying identification. I reckon I looked suspicious or something. I got questioned like Tex and some of the other muggles, but something went wrong when I was on my way out. I guess I was too curious about what happened. I found out something though. Those wizards paid a visit to the club. They terrorized those muggles. They said some weird stuff that no one understood about the end of days and the wrath of Lord Voldemort was coming upon them. And," Tex paused. "It wasn't just those five we saw. They're recruiting and there were at least 10 more wizards with them. I heard that they were real young, just barely of age, sounds like."

"I was afraid of that." Charlie said. He sighed. "We have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow the real work begins."


	5. Chapter 5 Amanda, the Warrior

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 5 – Amanda, the Warrior

Charlie spent the rest of the day preparing for Ginny's and Harry's visit. She hadn't said how long they were going to stay, but he figured maybe a month at the least. There was a lot of work to be done. He was actually excited about seeing his sister and Harry. He wanted to make sure that they had a good time, not just training wizards against the dark arts. Neither had been in America before and Charlie wanted to convey his love for the country to them so Ginny, at least would understand why he decided to stay.

Travis spent the day cleaning and making sure that the rooms were livable. His house was actually in a muggle neighborhood because he wanted to stay close to his parents. He had a great room that he thought would be perfect for training. Charlie emphasized that secrecy was vital because of the risks that every member of the Society took. His parents were at risk now if the dark wizards were determined to destroy muggles, the parents of a wizard more than likely would be first on their list. This was especially true if the dark wizards found out that Travis had committed his life to stamping out dark magic.

He hoped that he could recruit more members, but it would take something worse than dead muggles to make the wizards he knew to realize there was evil out there. Maybe Diane would write something that would turn things around.

"Charlie," called Travis from the upstairs bedroom. "Do I need to give Ginny a separate room? Or do they sleep together?"

"What? Of course they don't sleep together. Are you crazy? We're talking about my sister; my baby sister." Charlie honestly had never considered that Ginny was old enough to have a sexual relationship. She was of age, of course, and they were practically engaged, but his sister having sex? Never! She's a virgin and is keeping herself pure until she's married. He realized he was being more than a hypocrite, but he was talking about his sister, not himself. Men were expected to be more, uh, experienced than women. Except Harry. He had to be pure as well. Anyone marrying his sister better be purer than driven snow.

"Don't bite my head off. I just asked." Travis said.

"Sorry. You've got a sister. You must know how it feels." Charlie said, apologetically.

"Right." Travis agreed.

"And your sister is hot." Charlie said appreciatively.

"She's too young for you. Remember that, quidditch boy. I'd hate to see your brilliant career end tragically." Travis was only half kidding, Charlie was sure, but he laughed.

Charlie went back into his new room. He liked the house. He had never lived alone, and the thought of it appealed to him. Maybe he would buy a house or a condo. He wouldn't know how to act if he had a little privacy. He would talk to Guy Bingly, one of the owners of the Flying American Red Dragons, his quidditch team, about getting a place during quidditch season. Off season, he needed to stay in the bunk house with the other dragon keepers, although his friend, Mike, lived away from the preserve with his wife and kids.

He believed that his life would return to normal as soon as he was sure that the evil could be vanquished or at least managed. He had no doubts at all. Harry Potter would inspire wizards to fight dark magic. He prayed that American wizards never lived in the shadow of a dark lord.

Travis was in the kitchen cooking dinner when Amanda came in. She was breathless and in a hurry. She brought a couple of magazines and a newspaper in and put them on the counter. She looked in the pantry and brought out a carafe of wine and poured herself a glass. She offered a glass to Charlie and Travis. Travis picked up his glass and gave it to her to refill. Charlie took a glass of wine and sat down to look at the newspaper. There was a small article on the front page about Harry Potter coming to visit his friend, Charlie Weasley, the seeker on the Red Dragons Quidditch team. Harry Potter, the article said, is a powerful and influential member of the British Ministry of Magic. He is expected to meet with the Secretary of the Department of Magic, Silas Roundtree, to discuss future alliances with the two wizard communities. Harry will also visit the North American Dragon Preserve where Charlie works during the off-season. Accompanying Mr. Potter is his fiancée, Ginny Weasley, who is, coincidentally, Charlie's sister.

When contacted, Harry said he was looking forward to visiting America and expects to play tourist after the important meetings are completed.

"Well, that's bull shit," Charlie said, slamming the paper down on the counter. "He's not a member of the Ministry of Magic."

Amanda looked at the article. "They had to write something. They can't very well confirm that Harry Potter is coming to America to train American wizards to fight dark wizards, can they?"

"I expected the Department of Magic not to sweep this under the table by making up a reason for him to be here. That sounds more like the Ministry of Magic. Always with their heads up their asses. Harry Potter destroyed the most evil dark lord in the history of magic. You'd think they could mention that little fact."

Amanda shrugged. "Probably slipped their minds."

"Are you staying for dinner?" Travis asked.

Amanda shook her head. "Nope. I've got a date," she said, picking up a piece of carrot and taking a bite.

Travis looked at her. "With whom?" he asked in that 'I'm your big brother tone.'

She hesitated for a moment. Licking her fingers, she said, quickly. "Brady Reed."

Travis put down his knife and folded his arms across his chest. "Excuse me?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, don't get your panties in a wad. I contacted him today. We talked and he invited me to a club. That wizard is going to be there. His name, by the way is Ares. Just Ares, no last name. He did not go through the Department of Magic when he came to this country. He probably got in through another network, which probably explains why he made contact through a muggle. It's very complicated." She took another sip of wine. "Does the name mean anything to you, Charlie?"

Charlie shook his head. "No, I've never heard the name before. Is he British?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I'll find out tonight."

"Do you want us to come with you?"

Amanda laughed. "No, that would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?"

Travis looked worried. "What if this Ares recognizes you from the funeral?"

"He won't." She tried to be reassuring, but Travis was definitely concerned. "Look, I'll be fine. I have 'Rescue Ranger' coin, so I'll hit it if something goes wrong, and you can come and save me. Okay?"

"Rescue Ranger coin?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Oh it's something Travis invented. It's our way to communicate." She fished a locket from inside her blouse and showed it to Charlie. "All I have to do is touch it here, and he receives a message on the corresponding coin, which he keeps--Where do you keep it, Travis?"

Travis patted his left breast pocket. "Next to my heart."

"Clever isn't it?" Amanda said.

"It's brilliant. That would be a good way for the Society to communicate," Charlie said.

"Good idea." I'll conjure something up in my laboratory," he said in a fake Transylvanian accent, that Charlie did not get at all. He looked at Travis blankly.

"You know, _Frankenstein's Monster_?' Travis said.

Charlie shook his head. He didn't have a clue what Travis was talking about.

"It's a famous muggle movie with Boris Karloff," Travis said.

"Oh, I see. Okay." He turned to Amanda. "I think I should teach you one or two defensive spells. You may need them. If they go to a place where muggles hang out, a protective charm would come in handy."

"I know, but if I'm going, undercover so to speak, wouldn't it be better to played along? I mean, they wouldn't expect me to saves the lives of the people I profess to hate, right?"

"But you shouldn't go in there unprepared, Amanda. It's very dangerous." Charlie said. "This isn't a game. You could be killed."

Amanda didn't know what to say. He was right, of course, but she also thought he was being too cautious. Brady would vouch for her, she was certain. She had thoroughly convinced Brady that she was serious. She wouldn't tell Charlie or Travis what she did to convince him when they met for lunch, because she was damn sure Travis wouldn't approve. Amanda had used sex before as a tool to get her way, so a little oral sex wasn't an unreasonable way to convince Brady that she was serious about him. But, she was afraid Charlie would think less of her if he knew and she couldn't stand that idea.

She was a soldier in the war against dark magic, and she used what she had, she rationalized. Once she got on the inside she could provide vital intel. Charlie would respect her for that.

She looked at her watch. "Shit!" she said. "I have to get going. Don't worry, bro, I'll be fine. And Charlie, I'm not totally defenseless. I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve. Don't wait up." She dashed out the door.

Travis watched her go. He pointed his knife at the door and shook his head. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, Charlie."

"She did seem a little reckless, but I'm sure she'll be fine."

Travis finished cooking dinner and magicked the table set. He was quite a good cook. Travis was more than a little distracted during dinner. He jumped at every little sound. If only he knew where he had taken her, he would have followed them. Discretely, of course, but still, he didn't like the idea of Amanda being out of his sight.

Charlie had watched his family fight death eaters and he had fought them as well. The war was real and it was personal to him. He was concerned about Amanda as he was concerned about all warriors who put their lives on the line, but that was the nature of the beast.

After dinner, Charlie helped Travis clean up and then he went into his new room to write a letter to Joanna Morgan, his best friend from quidditch. Joanna, who had known Charlie from Hogwarts, had convinced the coach of the team to hire him as first string seeker. They got along extremely well. He missed Joanna. She had a wicked sense of humor and always kept him focused on doing the right thing. She wouldn't let him get too full of himself. She had a way of bringing him down to earth.

Joanna was about to go off and break Charlie's heart by marrying Jordan Kingsley, the seeker for the Hamilton (Ontario) Horntails. Charlie was afraid that Joanna would want to play for the Horntails once they were married, and he didn't want to lose his best friend to another team.

Charlie told Joanna all about the secret society and that his sister Ginny and Harry Potter were coming to help train recruits. He told her that he could use her and Jordan if they would quit shagging long enough to actually do something worthwhile with their lives. Let me know, he wrote. He got the letter sent off by owl and started getting ready for bed.

He had starting to undress when Travis burst into his room.

"Something's wrong!" Travis shouted. He held out the coin and it was flashing a bright red. "She's in trouble."

Charlie put his shirt back on and grabbed his wand. "Let's go," he said.

"Hang on, this acts coin acts as a portkey and will take us to where Amanda is." Charlie held on to Travis and a split second later, both were hurling through space.

They landed in an alley behind what looked like a night club. There was a lot of screaming and rushing noises. Apparently there had been another attack. Charlie wasn't sure where he was, but he recognized the smell of vomit and urine.

"Is this your uncle's bar?" He asked a shaking Travis.

"Oh, my God," he said, anxiously. He looked around for something familiar. "Yes!" he said. "How did they know?"

"We need to find Amanda. I'll find her. Go see about your uncle."

Travis was totally in a panic. He couldn't think straight. He stood up then sank down. "I don't know what to do," he said. "Help me Charlie. I'm totally worthless."

"No you're not. Take a deep breath. The coin got us here so Amanda must be here. I'll find her. You need to see what happened, okay? Your uncle might me hurt, as well. I'll take care of Amanda. Use a stunning spell if you have to, okay? And duck if someone aims a wand at you. I need your help here, Travis."

Travis wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and nodded. "I'll be all right. I can do this." He bounded inside the bar wand ready.

Charlie was afraid of what he would find when he did find Amanda. She might already be dead. That's why he sent Travis to check on his uncle and the bar.

He got very still and he heard a soft moaning sound coming from the dumpster. He looked in the dumpster but it was almost empty. The moaning got louder. He looked to the side of the dumpster and there in a crumpled heap was Amanda. Her head was bloody and there were signs that she had been sexually assaulted. Her eyes were blackened and she had a bloody and swollen lip. Her clothes had been ripped off her. Charlie took off his cloak and covered her.

"Amanda?" he whispered, hoarsely.

Amanda opened her eyes slowly and winced. She was barely conscious. She tried to cover herself better. She didn't want him to see her like this.

"I'm sorry," she croaked. "You were right. They knew all along who I was. They recognized me from the funeral. They were looking for us. They found out about my uncle's bar and they brought me here. They, uh, raped me in front of my aunt and uncle. They had them tied up. I don't know if they're alive or not. They made Brady –" But she couldn't go on. She sobbed as Charlie held her in his arms. He stroked her hair and rocked her like a little child.

Travis staggered out the back door. "They burned the inside. There isn't much left. The muggle fire department and police are on the way. We need to get out of here." Travis said.

"Amanda!" he cried. "Is she all right?" he asked Charlie.

Charlie nodded. "She will be. Let's get her home."

They disapparated holding on to Amanda. When they got inside the door of Travis' house, he was able to see what had happened to her.

"I need to take a bath," Amanda said, shuttering. "I need to get clean."

Charlie and Travis helped her into the shower. There were bruises and burn marks and bites marks on her breasts, stomach and buttocks. Travis couldn't stand to look at her. Something died inside of him.

"Look at this," Charlie said. He pointed to a large mark on her breast that looked like a tattoo of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. "It's the dark mark. Death eaters wore these on their left arms." Travis forced himself to look at his sister.

Amanda seemed to rejuvenate in the shower. She was in a lot of pain, but she had her eyes open and she looked like she was going to be all right. She no longer had dead eyes, she was alert and Charlie got the feeling if she had had the opportunity, she would have gone after Ares and his lot.

"Now I'm just pissed off," she said weakly. "_Accio, robes_!" she said, pointing her wand at the bathroom door. Her robes flew into the bathroom and fell gently at her feet.

Charlie and Travis left her alone after being assured that she would be all right. She nodded that she would be just fine.


	6. Chapter 6 The Memory Charm

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 6 – The Memory Charm

Travis and Charlie left Amanda in the bathroom to finish getting dressed.

"You're going to need to put protective charms on this house and your parents' house so the dark wizards can't get to it. Have you already done that?"

Travis shook his head. "I never thought to do that. I wouldn't know how."

"I'll show you. Can you get in touch with your parents to make sure they're all right?"

"Of course. I should have thought of that. I am no good to you, Charlie." He repeated the words he used earlier.

Charlie ignored him. He was pointing his wand at the ceiling and throughout the house, conjuring a protective seal around the house, preventing dark wizards from getting near or using charms against him. The protective charm made the house virtually invisible without drawing attention to it from the surrounding neighbors.

When he had finished, he asked Travis if he wanted him to put a protective charm on his parents' house. Travis nodded and he took him the short distance. The house was dark, as were the rest of the houses around. A few minutes later, Travis saw a light go on in his parents' bedroom, then another in the living room. He ran to the front door and knocked loudly.

"Dad?" he called out. "Are you all right?"

The door opened cautiously. "What are you doing here so late, son?" It was his mother. She looked worried. She looked at Charlie. She automatically pulled her house coat tighter around her neck. Charlie did look rather intimidating. His long red hair, which he usually tied in the back, was loose and his face was flushed.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Travis said, introducing him. "This is my friend, Charlie. He's a friend of mine."

Charlie thought it odd that he would tell her twice that they were friends, but he reckoned that it was his way of telling his mother that Charlie was a wizard. Charlie smiled and stuck out his hand. She graciously took his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Davis," Charlie said politely.

Mrs. Davis smiled nervously. Travis kind of pushed his way into the house. "What's wrong?" he asked her as they made their way into the house.

"Your Auntie just called. I think their bar burned down tonight. I didn't understand what she was saying, she was hysterical. Dad's talking to her right now. I'm glad you came by. She was worried about you. She said something about Amanda, but I couldn't understand her. I tried calling Amanda on her cell phone, but all I get is her voice mail. Have you seen her tonight?"

Travis nodded. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Mom," he began, but Charlie cut him off.

"She's at Travis's house now, Mrs. Davis. She all right."

"Are Auntie and Uncle okay?" asked Travis, wiping his eyes.

Mrs. Davis looked at Travis. "I think so. Was Amanda at the club when it burned? Travis, what is going on?"

Travis walked into the living room and collapsed on his mother's chair.

Charlie looked straight into Mrs. Davis's eyes and said very slowly, "There was a gas fire at the club. It was scary, but Amanda got out okay, but in the confusion they must have thought she was hurt or lost. There was a lot of damage to the club, but only the inside was burned." Charlie's voice was very soothing, and Mrs. Davis began to relax and her eyes seemed to go out of focus. Travis was amazed at the way Charlie was so calm and could create such a believable story in such a short period of time. Travis knew that Charlie was using some sort of memory charm on his mother and would probably do the same to his aunt and uncle and his father.

Travis had so much to learn about charms and spells. His education was lacking in defense against the dark arts, but he excelled in muggle studies, which didn't do him a hell of a lot of good right now. He wasn't as good as Charlie with memory charms, but it was probably his strongest talent. He sure as hell didn't need to wuss out every time anything bad happened. Charlie said he would learn, and he would. He had to get stronger or he wouldn't stand a chance against Ares and the rest.

Travis's father came down the stairs; he was dressing as he made his way into the living room. He stopped short when he saw Charlie standing next to Mrs. Davis and Travis sprawled on the chair.

"What's this?" he asked gruffly.

Mrs. Davis smiled serenely. "This is Travis's friend, Charlie."

Mr. Davis exchanged a look between him and his wife. "Oh." He said, "I couldn't understand a word Nora said, but something about Amanda and the club. I'm going down there right now to see if I can help out."

"May Travis and I go with you?" Charlie asked suddenly. Travis looked up and nodded.

"Sure," he said. "Let me get my coat."

Travis got up and Charlie and he followed his father outside to his car. Charlie felt a tiny rush of excitement because he'd only been in a car a few times and it still thrilled him to travel in such a traditional muggle way.

Mr. Davis took MoPac to Cesar Chavez downtown Austin. It was very late, but there was still activity going on. The fire truck and police cars were still in front of the bar, but it looked like they were wrapping things up. Charlie motioned for Travis to get to this aunt and uncle before his father, so Travis bolted out the car door before he had come to a complete stop. He found his aunt and uncle on the side walk talking to a policeman. He gave his aunt a hug and began talking to them, very slowly and deliberately. Charlie smiled. Travis was working the memory charm. By the time Mr. Davis and he found a parking place and made their way to Nora and Ed, everyone had sort of a glazed look on their faces. The police officer was nodding.

Charlie hung back and made a discrete wave of his wand that was intended to everyone standing around, including the fire fighters and the on-lookers. He nodded at Travis knowingly.

"Was anyone hurt?" Mr. Davis asked.

Nora hugged her brother. "One person was killed," she said. "It was horrible. I guess he was overcome by smoke. The poor dear. He was the charming boy that Amanda came into the club with. I think his name was Brady."

"Shit," Charlie said softly. "Is he still in there?"

"I don't know," Nora said. She looked confused. "The coroner must have taken him out by now."

The police officer looked at Charlie suspiciously. "And you are?"

"A friend of the family. I knew Brady," he said. "I can identify him, if he's still in there."

The police officer looked confused. His recollection did not match with reality. Had the man's body been removed? What had he been doing in the bar? It didn't make sense to him. There was something that he just couldn't remember. Charlie touched the policeman's arm.

"I need to go in there," he said deliberately.

"Of course. I'll show you the way."

Charlie followed the police officer toward the charred building. He moved the crime scene tape that was strung across the front door. The inside was dark and dripping with water from the overhead sprinklers and the water from the fire truck. Charlie could not see very well. It smelled of chemicals and water and burned electrical wiring. He wished he could pull out his wand and light up the place, but he couldn't do that in front of the police officer, who insisted on accompanying him inside the building.

The officer turned on his flashlight. "Mother of God, what is that?" he asked, pointing his flash light to the mirror behind the bar. It looked like it had been etched in the glass. It was a skull with a snake winding out of its mouth. The dark mark.

"Oh, fuck me," said Charlie. The snake was moving like it was alive. "The mirror must be ready to break. Makes it look like its moving, doesn't it?" He said quickly.

The officer started walking toward the mirror. Charlie hurriedly drew his wand and made the mirror shatter. It exploded into tiny pieces. "See?" he said.

"Whoa!" the officer said. "Freaky, huh?" He looked around. "I guess the coroner picked up the body."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, we better get out of here before the whole thing collapses."

They made their way outside to the side walk. Charlie looked at Travis and shook his head. He pulled him away from his aunt and uncle.

"The dark mark," he said quickly.

"Oh shit," Travis said.

"I destroyed it." Charlie said. "I'm getting worried about Diane and the Tex's. I'm pretty sure Diane uses protective charms, but what about Tex?"

"I doubt it. Nobody thinks about stuff like that." Travis said.

"Well, it's stuff like that that you have to think about now." Charlie said grumpily. "All the time. We must be always vigilant. I'm going to go see Diane. I'm going to try to get her to stay with Amanda. I don't think she should be alone right now. You check up on the Tex's."

"All right. Be careful."

Charlie apparated in front of Diane's door. It was dark inside, and he knocked loudly. It took some before she opened the door. "Charlie, what's wrong?" she asked. She had thrown on a silk robe, but made no effort to tighten it around her. "Come in."

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded. She had just gone to bed.

"I need your help. Amanda was attacked earlier. She's been raped. Will you help her?"

"Of course," she said, a little worried. "Let me get dressed." She went into her bedroom. "Is she all right?"

"What?" Charlie followed her into the bedroom. She had thrown her night clothes off and was dressing in jeans and a sweater. She pulled her jeans up hurriedly.

"Amanda, is she all right?"

Charlie nodded, distracted. "Um, yes, she'll be all right. I think she probably needs to talk to someone. I honestly don't know what else to do."

Diane pulled the sweater over her head and smoothed it down. "I'm glad you thought of me," she said. "I don't know if I will be much help or not, but I'll try."

"Travis's aunt and uncle's bar was destroyed tonight, too."

"Oh no," she said. "Are they okay?"

He nodded. As she walked toward the door, Charlie took her hand. He leaned into her and kissed her. "Thank you," he said, pulling away.

She was breathless. She wanted more. She wanted him and she had ached for him for a long time. But instead she took a deep breath so she could breathe again. She smiled, "I'm glad I can help."

They quickly made it back to Travis's house. Amanda was sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine in her hand. She looked up anxiously when Charlie came in. "I was starting to get worried. Where'd you go? Oh, hello, Diane."

"We went over to your parents' house. They are fine. Then Travis and I went with your dad to the bar. It's a mess, but your aunt and uncle are all right." He walked over her. "How're you doing?"

"Sore and pissed off," she said. Her face was still swollen, although she had some ice on her lip, and the swelling was not so bad. The marks on her body weren't as inflamed. She had put dittany on the cuts and bite marks.

"Oh, my God," Diane said when she saw her. "You should get to a healer," she said.

Amanda shook her head. "No, I'm fine, really. I'm just not up to going out in public yet." She said.

Charlie took Diane aside and told her what happened that evening. Diane was shocked, but assured Charlie that she did indeed use protective charms. She found it hard to believe that the wizards would remember them after seeing them once at Lilith and Selene's funeral. She was not too concerned that they were looking for them, because she was used to that. She wrote some salacious things about people and there were always people out to get her. None were dark wizards that she knew of.

"Charlie," Amanda said. "I remember something that didn't make a lot of sense at the time. But there were some wizards from the Department of Magic there at Uncle's club. What do you think that means?"

"Were they with Ares?" Charlie asked, interested.

"I don't know. I didn't think so at the time, but the more I think about it, they must have been. Or not. Maybe they were investigating them."

"Did they act like they knew you?" Charlie asked.

Amanda shook her head. "No, but then they didn't get a good look at me, either. They left before it started getting really crazy. It was very chaotic and I was being grabbed by somebody I didn't recognize." She was quiet, thinking about her ordeal.

"Can you talk about it?" Charlie asked gently. "Don't worry about it if you can't. It's all right."

"There's shit I don't want to remember or talk about, but other stuff I think will be helpful, if I can remember it, I want to tell you. We didn't go to Uncle's place first. We met up somewhere else. I can't even describe the place, I'm not even sure it was here in Austin, but as soon as I walked in, the witch that was with him before recognized me. Poor Brady, he didn't know what was going on. He trusted me. Anyway, it felt like the witch was getting inside my head. I know that sounds stupid, but it's like she read my thoughts."

"Legilimency?" Diane whispered.

Charlie nodded.

"I couldn't stop it. She saw my whole family, Travis, Mom and Dad, and Auntie and Uncle and their club. That's when they took me and Brady there. It got pretty ugly after that.

"They said some weird shit. They tied up Auntie and Uncle and put them at a table right in front of the bar. They put me on the bar. I was struggling and I think two people were holding me down. Ares used his wand to tear off my clothes. Someone was holding Brady's arms behind his back." She talked very slowly like she was trying to remember a dream.

"I didn't cry out or anything and I think that pissed the witch off real bad. It's like she wanted me to beg for my life or something. I don't know. I was terrified, but I didn't cry. Brady was scared. I think he peed his pants. I just looked at him. The wizard that held him laughed at him. Wait! The wizard that held him—I knew him. I think he was from the Department of Magic.

"The witch pointed her wand at me and used some curse. I think it was something like 'crucio.'"

Charlie nodded. "The cruciatus curse."

"I was in such pain, I thought my head was going to explode. I wasn't very brave after that. I think I would have done anything to make her stop." She clutched her throat, remembering. "Once I cried out, she sort of smiled at me and stopped. There were two or three wizards who got a hold of me after that. They burned me with their wands, and make tiny cuts in my skin. The pain was excruciating. I really just wanted to die at that point. But they really got their rocks off torturing me. That's when I was raped the first time. Apparently Ares just likes to watch."

"Where the triplets there?" Diane asked.

Amanda shook her head. "I didn't see them."

Charlie look was grim. "That's probably why you're alive right now. "

"Yeah, I think so, too. But I think I was meant as a warning."

"Ares didn't touch you?" Diane asked again.

"No, thank God." She said. "He told the two who were having such a good time raping and torturing me to dump me outside. I think one of them was going to kill me, but I fought back. That's when I hit the coin on the locket. After that I kind of lost consciousness. The next thing I knew, you were rescuing me." She managed a wan smile. "My hero."

Charlie sighed. "They killed Brady."

Amanda stared at him, and then looked away. "Good," she said, and then she began to cry.

Charlie held her as great sobs racked her body. Diane watched her, trying to come up with something to say to her that would ease her pain.

"Go to sleep," soothed Charlie. "I promise you won't remember this tomorrow."

"I don't want to remember, Charlie, but I don't want to forget." He kissed her forehead and she closed her eyes. He carried her up to one of the bedrooms and laid her down gently. He covered her up with a blanket. He looked at her for a long time. She was just a little thing, so fragile, but very determined.

"Do you want me to stay with her?" Diane asked as she entered the bedroom.

"No," he said, straightening up. "I want you to stay with me." He took her into his arms and kissed her. She moaned softly and whispered, "Yes."


	7. Chapter 7 Harry Potter Comes to America

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 7—Harry Potter Comes to America

Charlie woke up early. Diane was awake and watching him. She smiled tentatively, not completely sure what his reaction to the night before would be. He had made love to her. He had been passionate and loving, but she knew he did not completely trust her. He brushed the hair out of her eyes and smiled. He cupped his hand behind her head and pulled her to him and kissed her.

"I really should be going," she said, not really wanting to leave.

He nodded, then pushed her back on the bed and kissed her again. He kissed her neck and she responded to him. She closed her eyes and let the kiss engulf her. She moaned when his lips found her breast.

There was a knock on his door. Charlie was startled and Diane instinctively pulled the covers over her. Charlie let his breathing become normal before he quickly pulled on his trousers and went to the door.

"Oh, sorry," Travis said, slightly embarrassed when he saw Diane. "I wanted to tell you that the Tex's are all right."

"Good," he said. "Are they here?"

Travis nodded awkwardly.

"What time is it?" Charlie asked. He pulled his hair in a ponytail and tied it back with a leather strap.

"Uh, it's about seven. They just got here." Travis looked around trying to avoid staring at Diane.

"Okay. We'll be down in a minute." Travis nodded and Charlie closed the door.

He returned to the bed as Diane was getting up and pulling on her clothes. He kissed her again.

"I really should go," she said.

He nodded. "I know. Are you all right?" It was an odd question Charlie Weasley to be asking. Normally, he wouldn't care if a woman he had just slept with was all right or not.

Diane smiled and kissed him. "I'm great," she said. "I just don't want to make this awkward for anyone. Besides, I have about a hundred things to do before this evening. We're still on, aren't we? My exclusive interview with Harry?"

"Absolutely. I can't wait to introduce you." He said, grabbing his shirt. They should be in around noon. I'm going over to the Department of Magic and wait for them."

"Oh! My editor told me to get my ass down there and try to get something from the Department of Magic today. I guess the Department has arranged a press greeting or something like that."

"Great. I'm interested in knowing how the Department of Magic is going to spin Harry's visit. Did you see what was written in yesterday's paper?"

Diane nodded."Your typical bull shit piece."

Diane and Charlie were still talking as they made their way downstairs. Travis had obviously told the Tex's that she was here because the room was uncomfortably quiet. Amanda was still asleep and Travis was cooking breakfast.

"Hey, boys," Charlie said.

They nodded at him and greeted him with a simultaneous, "Howdy."

Diane smiled and waved at them and went into the kitchen with Travis.

"Good morning. I hope you don't mind that I'm here," she said.

"No, of course not, just surprised to see you. That's all." He said.

"I know. Me, too. Well, I have to go to work. I'll see you tonight." She said.

"Bye Charlie," she called out. He came into the kitchen, walked her to the back door and kissed her. She walked out the back door and disapparated as he closed the door.

Charlie felt Travis's eyes on the back of his head. He turned and went straight to the coffee pot on the counter. Travis continued to look at him waiting, Charlie guessed, for some kind of explanation. The problem was, Charlie couldn't explain what had come over him.

"I hope you don't mind me having Diane over. I realize this is your house and I don't have any right to—"

"No, that's perfectly all right. This is your house, too while you're staying here. I'm just a little surprised is all. I didn't think that you and she were, uh, like that." Travis continued to stir the scrambled eggs.

"I didn't either. It won't happen again." He said honestly. "I don't know what came over me." He shook his head. "Oh, Amanda told me she recognized one of the new followers from last night, someone from the Department of Magic. What do you think about that?" Charlie said.

"I'm not surprised, actually. I do think that there's something going on over there. Maybe they are hiding something. I just get this feeling. "

"I keep forgetting that you work for the Department of Magic, too."

"Not in an official capacity. I'm their pimp. Like their cruise director. I entertain visitors, make them feel welcome. I think the word is good will ambassador. I showed you a good time, didn't I?"

Charlie had to agree. When he first came to America Travis met him and introduced him to Austin night life.

"Actually with you I went a bit above and beyond because I knew you were a lot like me, and I liked you from the beginning. I'm glad we're friends."

"Me, too." Charlie said. He didn't know what else to say. Travis was a good friend. He was not sorry that he had dragged him into the fight because he knew Travis had his back.

Travis served Charlie breakfast. He liked living there. It reminded him of his mum's cooking, without the food fights.

Amanda came into the kitchen a short time later. She was still kind of wobbly on her feet, but the haunted look had disappeared from her eyes. Charlie had done a modification of her memory so that the trauma she suffered wasn't so severe. She said she wanted to remember some things, but it was best that she didn't recollect most of what happened to her.

She smiled uncertainly at her brother and Charlie. "Good morning," they said together.

"How are you feeling?" Travis asked, putting a plate of food in front of her. He gave her some orange juice.

"Groggy and stupid, but rested. I'm sore like I fell off a broom or something." She squinted up her eyes then yawned. "I've got to go to work," she said.

"Why don't you stay here today? Call in sick." Travis said.

"No. Today's the big day, right?" She yawned again. "I have to be there to greet Harry Potter."

"You're going to see him tonight. Charlie's bringing him and his sister here. You'll have plenty of time to meet him."

"Well then, I have to find the wizard who was there last night. I need to find out why he was there and what the Department knows about Ares and the dark arts." Charlie and Travis looked at each other. How much did Amanda remember about the night before?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"I just think it can wait one more day, Amanda. What's the rush? You experienced a severe trauma last night." Travis said.

"I don't remember all the details. I know I got beat up because I can see myself, but the stuff I remember makes me more determined to find out what the Department of Magic had to do with it. I know I recognized at least one wizard who works in one of their 'secret' departments. I am determined to uncover anything that proves the Department of Magic is hiding something." Amanda said.

Travis looked at Charlie, expecting him to say something to dissuade Amanda, but Charlie just looked at him. "Charlie?" Travis said.

"If she wants to go to work, I'm not going to stop her. She's a big girl." Charlie said pouring himself another cup of coffee.

Amanda made a face at her brother. "See?"

"She could get hurt!" Travis wailed. "Do you want to see her hurt again?"

"I didn't want to see her get hurt the first time," he said angrily. "Travis, this is war. You, more than anyone, else should understand that. If you're not ready to commit, then I made a bad mistake in believing in you. You can't surrender the minute something bad happens; if you do that, the bad guys win. And believe me; you don't want the bad guys to win." He put his cup in the sink. "I have to go." He turned to Amanda who stood with her mouth open. "I'll go in with you, if you'd like," he said.

Amanda nodded and smiled. "I'll be ready in five minutes." She turned around and ran up the stairs.

Travis wipes the tears from his eyes. "I can't stand the thought of losing my little sister. "

"Do you remember what the dark wizards did to her? It can get worse, you know. I lost some very good friends and my own brother was killed and my other brother was maimed. Until you've experienced what I've gone through, I suggest you shut the fuck up or walk out right now." Charlie stood very still, then said, "if you want me to leave I will, and I won't think anything of it. If you're not ready now, maybe you will be one day." He started out the door.

"Wait!" Travis grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry. I am committed to this cause, but it was just hard for me to see what those bastards did to my family."

"Giving up won't change anything. Believe me, it's going to get a lot worse, but if you're trained you can fight them. We can fight them." Charlie said.

Travis released his arm and bowed his head. He looked up and nodded. He looked straight into Charlie's eyes. "I don't want to quit."

"Good."

There was a loud shout coming from the living room. Travis and Charlie looked at each other and pulled out their wands and ran into the living room. Tex was standing up, totally mesmerized. "It's, it's your chaser from the Reds. Joanna Morgan is here!"

"Hey, Weasley," she said brightly. "You can't have a fight without an Scot."

She took a flying leap and wrapped her legs around his waist. He hugged her back and swung her around. "God, it's great to see you." He said, laughing.

"We had to get away from those godawful Kingsleys. They were getting on my last good nerve. Jordan was afraid I'd kill someone one of these days, so I said, 'what the fuck, Charlie needs us.' And here we are. Well, Jordan's around here somewhere. How've you been? God, I've missed you. You've gotten pretty over the summer." She said, kissing him squarely on the mouth.

"Fuck you," he said, grinning. He put her down. Tex One was still staring at her, star struck.

She looked at him. "Ooh, a fan. How're you doing, sweetie?" She gave him a kiss on the mouth. He looked thunderstruck. He blushed deeply.

"So Harry Potter is actually coming here. I can't wait to meet him." She turned to Tex One. "Everyone in my world has heard of Harry Potter." She told him. "This is such an honor. I'll try not to be my usual self. I'll be on my best behavior. Harry Potter!" she squealed.

"I'm going down to the Department of Magic in a little while and pick him up. Travis has a muggle car."

"Cool," she said. "When are you going to learn how to drive a car?"

"Never," Charlie said. He looked a little sick at the thought.

Joanna laughed. Jordan walked into the living room from the bathroom.

"Hey Charlie!" he said enthusiastically. "It's good to see you. Did you tell him?" He asked Joanna.

"No, not yet. I just put my broomstick down. You tell him." She encouraged.

He had a sheepish grin on his face. "I've been traded," he said happily. "I'm a Red Dragon now."

"That's great, Jordan." Charlie said. He was a little concerned because Jordan was a seeker like him. He was too good not to play and Charlie was the first string seeker.

"They traded me for Claude Dumont. I'm your new keeper." He said happily.

"That's fantastic!"

Joanna looked at him proudly. "That's my stud." She kissed Jordan rather passionately. He responded as if they were the only ones in the room.

"Oh, baby," he moaned, kissing her deeper.

"Get a room, Morgan," Charlie said.

They reluctantly pulled apart.

"Well, I'm just going to have to have my eyes gouged out. That's burned on my retinas." Charlie said making a face.

"Fuck you, Weasley." Joanna said, grinning. "So, when are we going to pick up Harry Potter?" she said, excitedly.

"As soon as I have a shower."

"Well," she pushed him toward the door. "Go, man. Shake a leg."

He turned to her. "I want to you let you know how much your being here means to me."

"I know," she nodded. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world." She was serious for a moment. "You did a good thing, Charlie."

He started to say something, but she held up her hand. "You ain't back yet. My God, do I have to bathe you myself?"

While Charlie was in the shower, Amanda came back downstairs. Travis introduced her to Jordan and Joanna and started to explain that they were old friends of Charlie's. But Amanda knew exactly who Joanna and Jordan were. She was a huge quidditch fan and she rooted for the Horntails until they played the Reds. She was very excited when Joanna told her that Jordan was now playing for the Reds as keeper.

Finally, after it seemed like an eternity to Joanna, they were finally on their way to the Department of Magic. Jordan, Joanna and Charlie were very nervous in the muggle cars, but Joanna kept everyone entertained with her stories, hiding her nerves behind a façade of jokes and one liners.

They were escorted into the press room when they arrived. Joanna saw Diane and gave her a dirty look. "What's she doing here?" she whispered in Charlie's ear.

"I've recruited her," he said, reddening slightly. "She on our side."

"Oh, Jesus, Charlie, you didn't fuck her again did you? Shit, she is nothing but trouble."

He didn't say anything.

"Oh shit, Weasley. Stop thinking with your dick. I can't leave you alone for a minute." She said, obviously agitated .

He nodded humbly, "You're right. You're absolutely right."

"Don't you remember what she wrote about you?"

"I know, but I needed someone to write about what is going on, and she owed me a favor."

"I'll say she owes you a favor." She said sarcastically.

They were interrupted by a disturbance at the front of the hall. They were there. Ginny squinted over the lights to find her brother. She spotted him and grinned and waved. Charlie made his way through the crowd and gave his sister a kiss. She looked beautiful. So grown up.

Harry stood next to her. He was holding her hand. Harry never did like the attention he got, but he understood that it was part of his life. He grinned at Charlie and shook his hand and gave him a hug as well.

"It's good to see you, Charlie," Harry said, sincerely. Charlie introduced him to Travis, Amanda, Jordan and saved Joanna for last. She was actually struck dumb. She had known about Harry Potter since she was a child. Meeting him, the wizard who killed Lord Voldemort was more than she could handle at the moment. She wanted to say something clever, but she was totally star struck. She shook his hand and managed to mumble something unintelligible.

"So, Harry," Charlie said. "How does it feel to be a powerful and influential member of the British Ministry of Magic?"

Harry laughed. "I'll tell you what I told your press: Eh? That was a shocker for me. I imagine Kingsley Shacklebolt would be extremely interested in knowing that."

"Are you guys hungry?" Charlie asked.

Ginny nodded. "I'm starved, but we're supposed to have lunch with the Secretary."

Harry was fielding questions from several reporters. He was, as he always was, very polite. Ginny was distracted with her brother and started to walk away, but Harry very discreetly took her hand. She stayed by his side as they made their way to the end of the hall. Harry whispered something in Ginny's ear and she nodded.

Harry hadn't changed much since the last time Charlie saw him. He was taller and thin and his hair, although better styled these days still took on a life of its own. He didn't have the out-of-doors look that Charlie had. He wasn't tanned. And he still wore the same wire rimmed glasses. He still had his mother's eyes. Charlie noticed that Harry looked absolutely serene. He wasn't sure it was because he had eradicated the evil that haunted him all his life or it was because Ginny was at his side. Charlie noticed that Harry stole looks at Ginny when no one was watching. He held her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world and she was his lifeline.

Diane raised her hand and Harry nodded at her. "Most American wizards don't know your story, Harry. We have never faced the evil that shrouded England for so long. Are you aware that the dark wizards that you and the Order of the Phoenix battled are trying to get a stronghold in America?"

The tone of the room changed in that instant. Charlie was so proud of her for asking the question. Even Joanna looked impressed.

"I am aware, and I have offered my help to your Department of Magic." He said.

Another reporter piped up. "What is the Department's official policy on dark magic?"

Harry cleared his throat. "It's not up to me to tell you what your Department of Magic's official policy on anything is. I told the Secretary that I am available to help any way that I can, which includes an educational program designed to help identify the signs of dark magic."

The Department of Magic spokesman standing next to Harry and Ginny paled slightly. The official policy was that there was no threat to muggles and wizards in America. The Department didn't want a panic on its hands. He looked uncomfortable.

Diane spoke up again. "I found out recently," she began, "that the Department has an Auror Division. Have you met with them?"

Harry looked surprised. He shook his head. He looked at Ginny, who looked just as surprised.

Charlie was stunned. He had no idea the Department had an Auror Division. He didn't think anyone else in the room had heard of it either. He was going to ask Diane about it later. The Department spokesman turned paler, if that were possible. He glared at Diane, but she continued, "As I'm sure you're aware Aurors are trained to hunt dark wizards and bring them to justice. But if the Department has repeatedly denied the existence of the dark arts, I'm curious how the Department can explain why it has an Auror Division."

The spokesman coughed. "The Department of Magic has never denied the existence of the dark arts," he said meekly. "However—"He was about to add something when Harry spoke up.

"Excellent. Apparently the Department is taking a pro-active approach." Harry said. "I'd love to meet with them. I'm sure that will be arranged." He looked expectantly at the spokesman.

The spokesman smiled weakly and nodded.

The torturous affair ended and Ginny and Harry, along with Charlie and the rest went to the meet with the Secretary of Magic for lunch. Silas Roundtree was gracious, but clueless who Harry Potter was. He was more familiar with Charlie, Joanna and Jordan than he was Harry. He covered himself very well, because he'd been briefed, but he had no idea what the reporters asked Harry though.

Harry and Ginny were anxious to leave and as soon as it was socially permissible, they said their good-byes and they piled into Travis's car and took off. Once they were on their way, Harry relaxed. They chatted about quidditch and this year's world cup.

"You were robbed," Harry said. "I couldn't believe they disqualified your team. Your dad was livid. I thought he was going down to the ministry personally."

Ginny said, "We were all upset. What's going to happen next?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. I think that the owners are leaning toward adopting English rules. They didn't say anything, but that's just the feeling I got."

"Maybe we can get a pickup game while you're here." Jordan suggested.

"That would be great," said Harry.

Joanna still hadn't said a word. She was absolutely star struck. Charlie tried to engage her in conversation about the team or anything, but she just smiled and nodded. She tried to talk, but all she managed was a stammer.

"Harry Potter," Charlie said, with a grin on his face. "You are truly the greatest wizard in the world."

Harry and Ginny looked at him strangely.

"Anyone who could get this witch to shut up," he grabbed Joanna and around her neck. "Has got to be the most powerful wizard in the world."

"Fuck you, Charlie," Joanna said pushing him away from her.

Charlie and Jordan burst out laughing. Soon Joanna laughed. "You asshole."

Harry and Ginny laughed, too.

After that, Joanna returned to her old self.

They got to Travis's house in less than an hour. Travis got them settled into their rooms. Ginny took the room next to Charlie's and across from Harry's room. After they got settled in, Charlie talked to Harry about giving an interview with Diane.

Harry agreed to do the interview.

"Do you know a dark wizard by the name of Ares?" Charlie asked after explaining what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. He told him what happened to Amanda and how brave she was to try to infiltrate the group. The murders and torture had already begun and there had been recruiting of young witches and wizards. He was beginning to think that the Department of Magic was more involved than they were willing to admit.

Harry had never heard of the name before.

"I had no idea there was an Auror Division. What does that tell you?" Charlie asked.

Harry thought about it for a minute. "It tells me that the Department of Magic either knows about the threat or they were being pro-active. I don't know which."

"As a conspiracy theorist, I would say that they are more involved."


	8. Chapter 8 Defense Against the Dark Arts

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 8—Defense Against the Dark Arts

Later that day, after they had settled in Travis's house, Ginny showed Charlie and the others a pamphlet that she and Harry had written as a primer for defense against the dark arts. It included signs to look for as well as defensive spells. She thought it would be useful when the training began.

"This is brilliant, Ginny," Charlie said. "I can see this being used in schools. This is really good."

"Thank you," she said modestly. "It was Harry's idea. We really want to help you."

Harry was in the living room reading the newspaper and magazine accounts of the deaths of Lilith and Selene and the attack on the muggle Goth bar in Hark Heights, as well as the sketchy information about the burning of Ed and Nora's bar in Austin. Charlie explained that he had used a memory charm on them and the patrons that were on the scene. He also told Harry about the dark mark etched on the mirror and the mark left on Amanda.

Harry blew out his breath. "I just can't imagine where this Ares and the vampires came from. You think the vampires are wizards, right?"

Charlie nodded. "Yes, I do. And they're triplets."

"That's odd. What about the witch?" Harry asked. He was trying to piece the puzzle together. There were too many complications.

Charlie shrugged. "We don't know her name. Nor did we get a good look at her. They went to a wizard's bar to recruit at first. I have no idea where they are now. They kind of hit and run."

"That's typical. They are cowards. They talk tough and then hide in the shadows." Harry said that he would contact his friends at the Ministry and see if they had any information about Ares and the others. They must have come from somewhere. "I doubt if Ares is his real name."

"He must be a death eater," Ginny said. "Or the witch is. The ministry couldn't have rounded up every dark wizard. They surely missed some."

"No one knew how many dark wizards there actually were. The ministry had no idea. There's a good chance that many went into hiding right after Voldemort died," Harry theorized. "They must have scattered all over the world."

"It makes sense that some came to America." Ginny said. "This is the perfect setting. It's like a new frontier. It's perfect timing."

Charlie and Harry agreed. "I don't doubt that the Department of Magic was given warning that they may come over here," Charlie said. "Which explains the Auror Division. It's probably been around for years and works in secret, which explains why no one has heard of it."

"That's right, Charlie." Travis said, "But what about the Department's standard policy of there is no threat. There are no dark arts."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe they thought knowing what was out there would create a panic or something."

Everyone nodded in agreement. When Amanda got back from work that evening, perhaps she would have more information for them.

"What time is your reporter friend coming by?" Harry asked.

Joanna let out a snort, but didn't say anything. Harry and Ginny looked at her curiously.

"Joanna doesn't trust her," Charlie explained.

"No I don't!" Joanna confirmed.

"She did ask some very good questions today," Ginny said.

Joanna acknowledged, grudgingly. "Yes, she did. I'll give her that, but I'm sure there's something in it for her."

"You have to admit she's a good researcher," Charlie said. "It took a lot of digging to come up with stuff she found out about me."

Joanna blew out a frustrated breath. "The way she tilted it to make you sound evil and guilty, that's not good reporting, that's sleaze."

"She did apologize when she didn't have to." Charlie reminded her.

"I'm just saying," she cut herself off.

Amanda walked in with six people that no one except her knew. "These are people that would like to learn to fight dark magic," she said. "Everyone this is my brother, Travis, Joanna Morgan, chaser for the American Red Dragons, Charlie Weasley, seeker, Jordan Kingsley, formerly of the Hamilton Horntails, now the Reds' newest keeper; Ginny Weasley, Charlie's sister, and of course, Harry Potter."

Harry stood up and shook their hands. "A pleasure to meet you," he repeated to each one.

"They work at the Department of Magic. Big surprise, none of these had ever heard of the Auror Division, either." Amanda said.

"Connor, tell Harry and the others what you told me," Amanda encouraged.

He was obviously very nervous. He was a quidditch fan, too, so not only was he in awe of Harry Potter, he was also a little star struck at seeing Joanna and Charlie. He didn't like the Horntails much so he basically ignored Jordan. He hesitated for a moment, but Amanda encouraged him.

He took a deep breath. "About a week ago, I was at the _Den of Iniquity_, a wizard bar that caters to the offbeat crowd; young wizards with an attitude. Anyway there was this couple there. Really freaky. The witch was beautiful, but she had a sinister look about her, if you know what I mean. She was all over this wizard, it looked like some kind of stage show; I can't explain it any better. I thought they were going to have sex right there. Anyway, they engaged some of the young wizards there. I was half drunk, so I said what the hell and started talking to them.

"The wizards' name was Ares and he said that he knew the powerful magic in the world. He said the anyone can have the power if they just tried. The witch put some kind of spell on one of my friends. She was making him do really strange things. She said she could make him do anything, even if he didn't want to. She got him to take off his robes and well," he blushed, and cleared his throat. "She made him –uh."

"It's okay," Charlie said. "I think we get the picture."

Ginny grimaced . "Goodness," she said.

"He couldn't stop himself. It was as if he was puppet or something and he didn't any control over his body. It was disturbing. But it amused the hell out of Ares and Muireann."

Charlie and Harry jumped up. "What was her name?" They said together.

"Muireann," he repeated.

"Oh my God. I thought she was dead." Harry said.

Charlie nodded. "So did I."

"Who're you talking about. Who is it?" Amanda asked.

"Muireann Angharad. She is pure evil," Harry said. "She makes Bellatrix LaStrange look like a Girl Guide. She was horribly sadistic. She got pleasure in torturing people, especially muggles. She seduces men and then kills them just for pleasure. She's totally insane. I thought she was killed when the Ministry was rounding up all death eaters." He shook his head. "This is not good."

"Does that give you an idea who this Ares is?" Since you know about uh, the witch?" Travis asked.

Harry thought hard. He just wasn't sure. "I guess if I got a look at him, maybe I could recognize him. I don't' know."

"I don't think he's afraid of us," Travis said. "I think he probably thinks he's too powerful to be hurt or killed."

"They get like that," Ginny said, nodded. "Their egos are enormous. They know a couple of good spells and become adept at legilimency and aren't afraid to use unforgiveable curses and they think they own the wizarding world."

"And," Harry added, "Don't forget that cultivate brainless sadistic morons who latch on to a cause because it gives them power and prestige."

"The Ministry did a lot of research and studies on death eaters after Harry killed Voldemort," Ginny said.

Harry's face reddened slightly when Ginny mentioned Harry killing Voldemort. He had always considered it a joint effort and was reluctant (although it was all him) to take the credit. He always gave the credit to the Order of the Phoenix, the Weasleys, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dumbledore, Snape, his parents, and Sirius Black. It was never "I" killed Voldemort to Harry; it was "we" killed Voldemort and the death eaters. The true heroes, in Harry's mind, were those that died. He truly believed that without the support he was given, he couldn't have destroyed Voldemort. The wizards who stood with Harry knew differently. Harry's determination to win over evil was a lifeline to a population without hope.

"Without followers, they usually fade away," Ginny continued. "But unfortunately, there're a lot of followers out there."

"Well, at least it's just getting started here, so maybe we can do something." Travis said.

They had some time before the two Tex's were supposed to arrive, so Joanna suggested a pick up quidditch game to kill time. It was going to take a huge cloaking spell to hide it from the muggle neighbors, but everyone was ready to play. The six wizards that came with Amanda were so excited when they were invited to join in the game.

Amanda didn't think the suggestion of professionals versus fans was a very good idea. She wanted it divided up equally. Charlie told her that Ginny and Harry both were outstanding quidditch players and could play professional if they wanted to.

"In fact, I pick Ginny as my seeker. I'll be keeper," Charlie said.

"You might want to pick Harry for your seeker. He's brilliant." He suggested.

"What a minute, who died and made you captain?" Amanda asked.

"Okay," he said, good naturedly. "You be captain."

"No, that's fine. Shit, how many players do we have?" She tried to count everyone, but they kept moving around. "All right!" She bellowed. "Stand still! I want to count you and put you into groups."

"Let's see, who doesn't want to play?" No one raised his hand. "Okay, who's played before?"

Charlie, Harry, Joanna, Jordan, and Ginny raised their hands. "We've only got 13," Amanda said.

"What about a referee?" Mark, one of the wizards that Amanda brought, asked

"We don't need a referee," Joanna said. "Let's just play!"

"We need a referee because we only have 13. We can play with just 2 chasers." Amanda said.

"I think the professionals should not play their regular positions." Amanda said.

"Cool," said Jordan, "I'll be a beater."

"I want to be a beater, too," said Charlie and Joanna. "Let Travis be a beater, too." Charlie said. "So, that's the beaters."

"Okay, we need two seekers."

Harry and Ginny raised their hands.

"Who wants to be a keeper?" Reluctantly, Connor raised his hand.

"All right!" Said Amanda. "I volunteer, too."

"We still need a referee. I don't want the rookies to referee," Joanna said. "I'll referee," she volunteered.

"Now we need another beater." Mark volunteered and took a bat and grinned broadly. "The rest of you are chasers." Amanda said, finally. "Are we ready?"

Everyone took to the air while Joanna released the balls.

There was a lot of confusion. No one was real sure who was playing with whom. Charlie grabbed Ginny for his team. And he chose Connor as the keeper.

Jordan took the role of captain of the other team.

Finally, they had two teams. The game was loud and raucous. The keepers were awful, allowing the chasers to score readily. The chasers were worse.

Charlie knocked the bludger away from Ginny and it hit Jordan in the head. Joanna called a foul on Charlie and penalized his team. He and Ginny protested vehemently. They flew into her face and started yelling at her, but she just looked at them and threatened to throw them both out.

Harry laughed so hard he almost fell off his broom. Ginny went after him, but got diverted when she spotted the snitch. Now Harry went after her and they fought in the air over the snitch. If anyone thought Harry was going to gentle with Ginny, they had another think coming. He played fiercely and she responded in kind. But in the end, it was Harry who got the golden snitch. Game over. They broke it up with good natured arguing. Most of the players were battered and bleeding, Ginny and Charlie included, but they had a good time.

After the game, the six weren't as star struck and accepted Charlie, Joanna, and Jordan as regular people. Once they got back inside, Ginny put some ice on the knot on her forehead. She gave Harry a mildly amused look, and smiled sheepishly. She pointed playfully at her forehead and Harry kissed the bump.

"Thank you," she flirted and kissed him on the lips.

"I got hurt, too," he said playfully.

Charlie cleared his throat discreetly. Ginny gave him a dirty look, but sat up straighter.

"Sorry," blushed Harry.

The two Tex's come in a few minutes later. Travis was anxious to get the first class, and he rushed everyone into his great room.

Everyone was pretty nervous and self conscious, but Harry put them at ease. He was a very good teacher. He started off with some defensive spells. Unlike his first defense against the dark arts class during his fifth year at Hogwarts, his students were adults and were able to pick up the spells with relative ease. The problem came when he talked about how to recognize dark magic and how to cast protective spells, protecting themselves or muggles.

He stressed over and over the need to always be vigilant, and the simple things they could do to make sure they are protected. At the end of the class, Harry said, "Well done, everyone. Practice some of the defensive spells you learned tonight, and make sure that you are aware of your surroundings. Most wizards from England grew up knowing that there evil in our world, if you've never experienced dark magic, then you don't think about things like we did. Thank you. Keep practicing."

After the others had left, Charlie helped Travis put the room back together. Travis and Amanda were very animated about the session and were anxious to practice the new spells. Jordan and Joanna left soon, but were looking forward to coming back for the next session. They talked about doing some recruiting when they got back home to Ontario.

Charlie guessed that Joanna was in a hurry to leave because she did not want to come face to face with Diane Gentry, who was due to drop by for the interview with Harry. Charlie kissed Joanna good-bye without another word. He understood Joanna's concerns and was pleased that she cared enough about him to be angry with Diane and what she did to him with her articles.

Diane showed up much later. She apologized for being so late, but she was chasing down a lead on some dark magic activity. She explained her angle of the story to Harry. She had investigated Charlie and found out that he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. She had written that he was involved in a secret society that had been responsible for at least one wizard's life. As she had explained to Charlie earlier, she was going to approach Harry's story as a continuation of the original story.

Harry provided wonderful background for her story. The wizarding world in England always had the threat of a dark lord seizing power. Lord Voldemort was just one in a long line of dark wizards who wanted to control their world as well as the muggle world. Some of the death eaters had come from a long line of purebloods. Voldemort exploited the fact that some didn't think half-bloods or muggle born witches and wizard should be given full wizard status. Voldemort used these people and muggles as scapegoats, ensuring that his followers believed that these half bloods and Mudbloods were not worthy to share the same airspace as purebloods. The ironic part was, Harry told her, Voldemort was a half-blood. His was named after his father, Tom Riddle, who was a muggle.

"Wizards believed what they wanted to believe," he said sagely. "Some wizards just want to have someone to blame when things go wrong in their lives."

"Well, I know it's been a long day for you, Harry, but I'm so glad you were willing to talk to me. I'm almost finished with the first part of my article, and if you'd like I'll show it to you before I take it to my editor." Diane said, putting her quill and notebook away.

"Sure," he said.

"It's been a pleasure meeting you. I'm looking forward to seeing you again." She stood up and shook his hand.

She walked into the kitchen where Charlie, Travis, and Amanda sat. Ginny had already gone to bed.

"Hi," she said cautiously.

"How'd it go?" Charlie asked, standing up from the breakfast bar.

"I think it went very well. I got excellent background. Harry's incredible isn't he? He's so down to earth." Diane after taking the drink that Travis had offered.

"Yes, he is. Always been very polite." Charlie said.

"England grows very polite people," she said. She downed the amber liquid in one shot. "This stuff's better than the mezcal you gave me one time."

Charlie grinned. "Yep. This is tequila. Much smoother.

Diane ran her finger around her mouth. "My lips are numb," she said.

"That'll do it," he picked up the bottle of tequila and poured himself another glass. It was an awkward moment for Diane. She honestly didn't know what to expect. She was sure he wouldn't fall all over her and make mad passionate love to her with her sister in the house, but she was disappointed that he didn't act like he was going to invite her to stay.

She said her good-byes and started walking toward the back door. Charlie followed her out as the weather got worse.

"Thank you, Diane," he said.

"You're very welcome," she said. "I'll see you real soon."

Charlie followed her to the back door and stepped outside with her. He kissed her. She tried very hard for the kiss to linger longer. But it was over too soon. She disapparated. He watched the spot where she had disappeared for a long time. He went back inside, said good-night to his friend and went to bed.


	9. Chapter 9 Attack at the Nevermore

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 9—Attack at the Nevermore

Charlie went upstairs to his room, and as he passed his sister's room, he noticed that the door was open. Ginny was sitting on the bed near the headboard and Harry was sitting on a chair near the foot of the bed. They were engaged in a lively discussion. Ginny was laughing at something he said and he was gesturing wildly. When Charlie stopped, Ginny looked up. She smiled at her brother and returned her attention to Harry. As Harry lowered his arms, he gave Charlie a little wave. Charlie nodded and continued to his room.

"Goodnight, Charlie," Ginny said. "I think it went well today."

"Are you going to bed, Harry?" Charlie asked protectively.

"In a few minutes," he said, not indicating any chagrin. "Good night." He turned his attention back to Ginny.

They looked so comfortable together, Charlie thought. He didn't say another word to them. He went into his room and undressed. He was tired, but his brain was still going strong. He hadn't work so hard in a long time on spells and incantations in a long time. Harry's lesson had been very comprehensive.

Harry discussed teaching occlumency with Ginny. He knew he was not very good at it, but Ginny was. Ginny was also very good at legilimency, but wasn't sure how best to teach it. I t was complicated, but essential for fighting dark wizards. Harry knew that Murianne was an excellence legilimence and was able to get the information she needed to terrorize Amanda's family. Occlumency was one of the best weapons wizards had to resist dark magic.

Hermione offered Harry several books on occlumency before they left, and Ginny had been reading up on the subject. She was a good teacher, too and was considering a career at Hogwarts. That was one of the many things Harry and Ginny talked about when they were alone.

Maybe she would teach for a couple of years, Harry suggested. After that they would get married and settle down. Neither was ready for marriage yet, but it was always a question of when, not if. Harry still had to complete his Auror training which was another two years, which seemed to them to be a perfect amount of time to wait. Harry and Ginny were very pragmatic in their approach to their future. They knew that they were meant for each other and were willing to wait to get married at the right time.

Ginny wasn't sure she like America very much. It was big and noisy and on the arrogant side. She wondered what the wizarding schools were like. Charlie said something about the purebloods mostly home schooling their children. She was sure that was all right as far as giving children a good start, but she believed wizard children needed structure and experience. They would have to incorporate defense against the dark arts as part of the core curriculum for a solid education. She told Harry that she would like to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, if she ever decided to teach.

They talked about the booklet they had written together and decided they would offer it to the Department of Magical Education. There probably weren't any decent DADA books available here, so once they had sold the Department of Magic on the concept of dark magic, maybe they would be interested in their book.

Harry stayed for a little while longer. They were both tired, but still excited about the day. Ginny got out of her bed and kissed Harry.

"Good night," she said. "I love you, Harry."

Harry smiled. "I love you, too."

Harry closed Ginny's door behind him and went to bed. Charlie heard the door close and he rolled over and sat up in bed. He decided of all the things he had to worry about, he was not going to worry about Harry and Ginny.

His last thought before drifting off to sleep was, surprisingly to him, his mother. For the first time in several weeks, Charlie slept through the night without nightmares or dreams of any kind. He woke up early, and not surprisingly, very sore from the day's activity before. The pickup quidditch game had been more strenuous than some professional games he had played. He massaged his shoulder and the area of his chest where he had gotten shot. Playing beater was definitely more physically challenging that seeker. He decided he'd stick with seeker and let the younger ones pay beater. His leg muscles ached from riding the broom and his back was stiff.

He stretched out until he felt himself return to normal, then went downstairs to see who was up. The big house was quiet and it seemed like no one was awake yet. A wizarding paper had been delivered. He sat on the back stoop and read the paper. He had managed to magic hot coffee from the cold pot that was left over from the day before. He didn't know how to make coffee magically or the old fashioned muggle way. So he had to be content with what he had.

The front page of the paper had a large picture of Harry, Ginny, and him. The headline read something about Harry's visit and gave a little background on Harry. The true reason from the visit was left out, but that didn't surprise him. He would have been more surprised if the newspaper had given the true circumstances of Harry's visit.

Charlie was about to go inside for another cup of coffee when he heard a loud "crack". Diane had apparated not four feet from him. He stood up as she approached. She was holding a large envelope in her hands, and was taken aback when she saw Charlie.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Good morning," Charlie said. "You're up early."

She nodded, a little uncertain what she was supposed to do. "Yes," she said finally, "I promised Harry I would show him the article before I give it to my editor. I have an early meeting with him to go over the details."

"Harry's not up yet. It's just me. May I see it?" He asked her.

"Of course," she said, handing him the envelope.

He patted a spot next to him. "Sit down," he said.

She sat down and waited while Charlie removed the parchment from the envelope and started to read. He nodded several times as Diane watched nervously. She actually chewed her fingernails while he read the article. Finally, he looked at her and put the parchment back into the envelope.

"This is very good," he said. "Do you think your editor will publish all of it?"

Diane nodded, but shrugged at the same time. "I think so."

"Does the Department of Magic control what is printed in newspapers and magazines?" He asked. He knew from experience that the Ministry of Magic controlled and censored newspapers in England.

Diane shook her head firmly. "This is America, Charlie. We have freedom of the press." He eyed her curiously. "Okay, so that's a muggle philosophy, but the wizarding world has the same attitude. The government stays out of our business for the most part. There are rules and regulations, but the Department of Magic won't censor the press. They highly suggest a lot of times, and if they feel it is in the best interest of the wizarding community, they will ask us to lay off or wait to print. Sometimes there is substantial pressure, but mostly not."

"Were you looking to get Harry's approval for this piece?" he asked, giving her back the envelope.

"Not really," she said, fidgeting with the envelope. "I just wanted him to see it."

"What have you found out about the Auror Division?" Charlie asked. He stood up and stretched from side to side. His back was getting sore from sitting on the hard surface. "Come inside."

Charlie held the door open for her and she preceded him into the house. Travis was just walking into the kitchen. He was startled by them.

"Oh, hi," he said, yawning. "You're up early."

Diane said hurriedly, "I just came by to show this to Harry." She waved the envelope in her hand. "I didn't think about the time. I have an early meeting with my editor. I guess I figure everyone gets up early."

Travis didn't understand why she appeared to be so nervous. Then it dawned on him that she wanted him to know that she hadn't spent the night. Why it mattered to her, he didn't know.

"Sit down and I'll make some coffee," he said and Charlie smiled.

"Good. I hate left over coffee. Sit down," he insisted to Diane. "About the Auror Division?" he prodded her.

"Oh, yes," she began. "I don't have a whole lot of information yet. I know the director is Kenneth Fowler. He's from the east, Salem, I think. He was appointed as director maybe eight years ago. I'm still working on the date, but so far it looks like the Division was founded about that time."

"That's significant," Charlie said.

Diane and Travis both gave him a questioning look.

"It was before Voldemort was killed. In fact, that was about the time he reappeared." Charlie thought for a moment. "Makes sense to me. The Ministry of Magic may have informed the Department about Voldemort's return and asked them to start getting prepared in case his influence spread here."

"The Division is top, top secret." Diane said.

"How did you find out about it?" Charlie asked.

"Dumb luck. I was in the right place at the right time. I overheard two wizards talking about a report that needed to be hand carried to the Secretary. The other wizard sounded kind of cynical and asked why he bothered because no one took their division seriously. Then he said something like, 'You'd think they would at least listen to the Aurors.' That's when I really started paying attention. The first wizard said, 'We can't even get Ken to take us seriously, and he's the director. I don't think he passes any of our reports up to the big guys.'."

"Hmm," Charlie and Travis said together. "That's interesting." Charlie finished.

Diane nodded. "I'm going to try to talk to one of those wizards. He sounded pretty disgruntled. Maybe he's willing to tell me something off the record."

"Well the Department's standard line is that there is no threat; there aren't any dark wizards. Maybe Fowler has given up and knows that anything he says will fall on deaf ears. The Secretary has only been in office for a couple of years." Travis said.

Travis opened the muggle newspaper he held in his hands. "Oh, Lord," he said, placing the paper on the counter so Diane and Charlie could see.

It wasn't on the front page, of course, but there was an article on the back page about a report of another night club that had been terrorized. According to a witness, patrons of _Nevermore,_ a night club noted for its gothic and vampire inspired theme, were held hostage for several hours by a band of 'vampires and warlocks' who sexually assaulted several of the women patrons and forced the men to participate or watch. This was the second attack in a week. Another club in Harker Heights had reported a similar incident earlier. The group seems to only attack vampire or Goth role playing establishments. The witness, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said there were twenty to thirty who participated in the attack.

"Have you ever heard of this place?" Charlie asked Travis.

Travis thought for a moment then shook his head. "No. Does it say where it is?"

Diane scanned the article and said, "San Marcos."

"I wish we could talk to the witness," Diane said.

They agreed.

"We know who did it. Probably the triplets were there. What about 20 to 30 participants? What do you think that means?"

"I think it was an initiation," Charlie said. "They are recruiting more and more and they are told to participate in an attack. Well, it sounds reasonable."

Diane looked at Charlie and shuttered. "Do you think they were real vampires?"

"The muggles?" Travis asked. "No, faux or pretend. Muggles are a very strange lot."

Diane and Charlie agreed.

"Oh, shit," cried Diane, "I have to go. I'm going to be late." She took the envelope and pointed her wand at it. "_Planto geminus!"_ She hand the extra envelope that she just created to Charlie. "Please give this to Harry."

She hurried out the back door and disapparated.

"Do you think you can find the muggle from that newspaper article?" Charlie asked Travis.

"I can try," he said. "I can get some information from the police department or the reporter who wrote the story." He checked for a by-line. "Tricia Trevino," he read. "Try saying that three times fast." He joked to himself. "I'll drive down to San Marcos. You want to come?" he asked.

Charlie shook his head. "I'm going to try to find the Auror Division."

"I don't think they would appreciate you snooping around. Why don't you ask Amanda to check it out. She would less conspicuous." Travis said.

"Good point, Travis." Charlie said. "But I don't want to sit around doing nothing all day while everyone else is having fun."

"Well you could show Harry and Ginny around." He suggested. "Or we could all go to San Marcos. We can go in the muggle car." He said, trying to entice Charlie.  
"If they want to go," Charlie said grumpily. "I need to work out or something. I'm not used to not doing anything. Where's San Marcos anyway?"

"It's about 30 miles." Travis said.

"Could we at least fly?" he said, irritably.

He replied. "My, you are grumpy, aren't you?"

"Sorry. No, never mind, I know we can't fly, but I'm going crazy with nothing to do!. Sorry." He apologized.

"I'll put the top down on my car. It'll be just like flying only closer to the ground and faster. You'll like the convertible." Travis said. He pulled out his cell phone and punched a number. "I'm calling Amanda to ask her to look into the Auror Division," he explained. Charlie stared at the cell phone. He hadn't quite got used to having a friend with muggle ties, but he was learning quickly. His former muggle girlfriend had had a cellular telephone, but he never used it. The first time he heard it ring he almost jumped out of his skin. They had been in an intimate embrace at the time.

Ginny came down the stairs dressed for the day. She said good hello to everyone.

"I slept so good last night," she complimented Travis. "I may have to take the bed back with me."

"Coffee?" Travis asked, holding up the coffee pot.

"No thanks. Do you have any pumpkin juice?" she asked.

He jumped up and gave her a glass. She smiled and thanked him. He gave her a sweet roll. As she sat down at the counter, she saw the muggle newspaper and the wizard one. She opened the wizard newspaper and read the article about Harry. She had the same reaction that Charlie had when he read it. Charlie showed her the article in the muggle newspaper.

"We were going to try to find the witness that the newspaper quoted," Travis said. "Do you want to come?"

"No, thanks. Harry asked me to teach occlumency and I want to read the books Hermione gave me. I want to make sure that I learn all I can."

Travis seemed disappointed, but didn't push the issue. "I don't know how long this will take. I will try to contact the reporter. I'm sure we can talk her into giving up the source."

Ginny shuttered. "I hope Ares doesn't think of that first. But then, I doubt if Ares reads muggle newspapers either."

"He's pretty knowledgeable of muggles, we know that much. I think he's gotten a got wiser now that he knows we're after him." Charlie said. "If we know enough to check muggle newspapers, I'm pretty sure he does, too."

"What time do you expect to get back here?" Ginny asked.

"No idea. I don't think Tricia Trevino will be hard to locate. It shouldn't take long after that. Are you planning a lesson tonight?"

"No, I don't think so. I think Harry said once a week, but if there are any new recruits he said he'd train them individually."

By the time Harry got downstairs, Charlie and Travis were ready to go. Harry said he wanted to help Ginny with occlumency. Charlie gave him the article that Diane left. He read it over and, too was impressed with the quality of the research and writing.

"This is brilliant," he said. "Let's hope the editors don't tear it apart. We all know how they can get, especially if they aren't on board with the concept."

"Diane can convince them. She can make it sound sexy so the editors will buy off on it. She writes for a celebrity magazine. There has to be a glamour angle to it." Charlie said. "I'm sure she can pull it off."

"Well, let's hope so." Harry said.

A few minutes past nine, Charlie and Travis were on the road to find Tricia Trevino and the _Nevermore_ club. Charlie did enjoy the trip. The wind danced through his hair and he actually felt like he was flying.

The first thing Travis did was to call the Austin newspaper that ran the story. He convinced the nice lady on the phone that he needed to get in touch with Tricia. He obviously used a charm, and it was a very good one. By the time he hung up his cell phone, he had Tricia's home phone, and cell phone numbers.

"I can use a more powerful charm if we were face-to-face," Travis said. "She might be at the branch office." He called one of the numbers he was given and got voice mail. Tricia picked up on the second ring when he called the other number.

Travis had her convinced to meet them at the _Nevermore_ in fifteen minutes.

She was waiting outside the club when they arrived. She was a petite woman with dark hair and eyes with Hispanic features. Charlie hoped that she wasn't going to get too curious about them. But Travis was in his element as a schmoozer. He flattered and flirted, but she was reluctant to give up the name of her witness, even with a revealing charm. She told them just about everything else. She revealed the names of the assault victims and described in gruesome detail what happened to them.

Charlie asked her if the triplets were there, and she answered yes. He gave her an odd look, but didn't let on what he was thinking until he had cornered Travis inside the bar.

"I think she's the witness," he whispered to Travis.

"What?" he said, incredulously. "Why would you think that?"

"I asked her about the triplets and she answered that they were there."

"So?" Travis said.

"It's the way she answered the question. You used a revealing charm on her and she gave you the names of the victims, but not the witness. Doesn't that sound odd to you?"

"I don't know. Everything about this case sounds odd. Do you think she's a vampire wannabe?"

"Yeah, I do." Charlie insisted.

"Do you think she was attacked as well?"

"No. I don't know. Maybe, but she's hiding something. Maybe she just doesn't want her private life to be made public. Everyone has secrets. Press her a little harder." Charlie said.

"I'm not that good at this, Charlie. Can you do it? I've taken my best shot." Travis was sure she should have revealed more by now.

Charlie agreed and walked back into the main part of the bar. He spoke to her calmly and slowly. It was like the memory charm, Travis thought. But Charlie touched her arm, and began stroking her hand reassuringly. Travis saw that her defenses were weakening. Charlie was very convincing. He leaned in to her as he spoke, still stroking her hand and arm. It was a very sensual move. She smiled at him and her eyes went dreamily out of focus. Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of fear. She was remembering something but she didn't want to reveal it. He was very patient. He told her by his actions that he could be trusted.

"You were here," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," she breathed. Suddenly a great weight was lifted off her. "A friend of mine told me about this club, and it sounded like something I wanted to find out about. I had been to the club before. It was kinky and fun. Nobody ever got hurt. Until last night. It was horrible. There were about thirty of them. Three really bizarre men. They were triplets. It started out fun, but it turned real ugly real fast. It was like we were under some kind of spell, as crazy as that sounds. The women let it happen to them at first because it was like a game, you know? A little bondage, but it was sadistic torture. We were held captive for hours. They made some of them do awful things. I was one of the lucky ones. They just made me watch. The triplets were very creepy. I really think they were vampires. I know that sounds weird, too. They bit hard."

"Did they bite you?" Charlie asked, concerned.

She shook her head. "No, like I said they just made some of us watch, like they had to have an audience."

"Was there a woman with the group?" He asked.

"There were several women. They went after some of the guys. They made these guys do things, just like they made the victims do."

"Did the women do any of the 'biting'?"

She thought for a moment. "No, the only ones who did any biting were the creepy triplets."

"You were very brave to write about it, Tricia." Charlie said soothingly. "Your mind going to be at peace now, Tricia. You're going to be all right. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Yes, I do."

"You didn't do anything wrong. Don't feel bad. You survived. One of these days, they are going to kill someone."

"I was terrified. I did feel guilty for being there and watching those poor people and I was helpless." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"But you told the story. That was a very brave thing to do."

They stayed for a while longer and Tricia told them about the tall guy, Ares who seemed to be orchestrating the whole thing along with the woman. She was all over him, like some kind of show. Charlie had heard that description before.

Travis gave Tricia his cell phone number and asked her to call him if she remembered anything else. She agreed to. She left relaxed and more at ease than she had been since had witnessed the ordeal. She was still frightened, but not hysterical. Charlie was not going to erase her memory of the incident. Travis questioned him later, but Charlie pointed out she wasn't physically harmed, and she had been strong enough to write about it. He was convinced that she wasn't permanently traumatized.

Both Travis and Charlie were anxious to get back to tell Harry and Ginny and Diane what Tricia had revealed. Charlie was sure that more attacks would be coming and he predicted, as he did to Tricia that very soon someone was going to be killed.


	10. Chapter 10 Conspiracy Theory

Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Charlie's War

Chapter 10—Conspiracy Theory

Everyone seemed to converge on Travis's house at once. Charlie and Travis drove in from their meeting with Tricia Trevino; Amanda came by after work with some good news about the Auror Division which she was dying to tell. She brought someone along again. She was proving to be a very good recruiter. Diane was waiting for them in the living room talking to Harry and Ginny. They seemed to be pleased with whatever she was telling them.

When Diane saw Charlie and Travis come through the door, her eyes lit up and she jumped up. She held up a copy of the magazine she brought with her.

"He printed it just like I wrote it," she said excitedly. "He loved the angle and wants me to keep writing about dark magic. He thinks it will be very popular."

"That's great, Diane," Charlie said. He was caught up in her enthusiasm and he kissed her before he caught himself. Ginny looked at him with an amused look on her face, but didn't say anything. No one else seemed to pay attention except Amanda, who kind of sniffed.

Amanda stepped into the living room ahead of Charlie and Diane, pulling on the arm of the man she brought with her. "This is Miles. He works in the Auror Division." She waited for her words to have their effect. Immediately, everyone turned toward Miles, who smiled confidently.

"It's a real pleasure to meet all of you," he said. "There are several of us at the division who are frustrated at the way things are being handled. We know that something's going on, but everything we try to do gets struck down or if we try to complain, it falls on deaf ears.

"The training we receive isn't adequate for what I believe we are facing. The reports of muggle tortures are being ignored for the most part. We want to do something, but it seems like our hands are tied."

He turned to Harry earnestly. "If you could talk to the Secretary himself, I think you can straighten things out. Our director acts totally oblivious. He feeds shit to the Secretary. It's like he doesn't believe in the organization. It's very frustrating. If the Secretary actually read one of our reports, I think things would be different. I brought a file for you to see. It's the investigations on past activities that didn't get past Kenneth Fowler's assistant's desk or the deputy." He waved around the envelope. "There are things in here, some of it I've personally investigated, that are real and credible, but no one will listen."

He was clearly upset. Charlie felt a ray of hope for the first time in a while.

"Did you know that there are vampires that are working with two dark wizards and their recruits?" Miles asked.

"Yes, we did." Harry said.

"Damn. The Secretary knows nothing about it! Ken, uh Mr. Fowler actually laughed at the report. He warned my partner and me about lying to make our jobs look relevant."

"We have a lot of information which may be helpful to you. The head dark wizard's name is Ares. He's paired up with a psychopathic witch named Murianne, and triplet vampires, who are sadistic bastards," Travis said. "They killed two muggle friends of ours, Lilith and Selene. We believe that they used Lilith to get into this country somehow. Murianne is definitely a former death eater and we believe that Ares is as well. He's probably using an alias because nobody knows the name. Lilith was the first to be tortured and killed. And we know of two muggle bars that have been terrorized just around here. We also know he's recruiting in wizard bars that cater to a younger crowd."

"I've asked from friends from the Ministry to investigate Ares from our side," said Harry. "Hopefully something will turn up."

Miles was impressed. "You have done more in a short time than we've been able to accomplish in years. This isn't the first report we've investigated. There was little activity over the past two years, but it has really picked within the past month. Hopefully with your help and exposure from the media, wizards will actually start paying attention."

"Diane's our media witch," Charlie said. "She'll help you any way she can."

"Outstanding! We couldn't get anyone from the news to even listen to us because our boss fed them some bull shit piece one time that was totally bogus. It's almost as if he doesn't want us to find any dark wizards." Clearly frustrated, Miles was happy that someone believed him and wanted to help.

Harry and Charlie looked at each other significantly. Maybe the head of the Auror Division _didn't_ want anyone to believe the threat. _But why?_

"Diane," Harry said. "Will you do an investigation on Kenneth Fowler?" he said. "There's something wrong here. Do you agree?"

"Absolutely. Unless the guy's a complete moron, and that's possible, why would he not want to tell people of the threat so that they'll be prepared? It just doesn't make any sense."

"There's something else," said Miles. "It didn't seem significant at the time, but the more I think about it, the more important it sounds." He hesitated for a moment. "All of the Aurors in the Division except for the higher echelon are Americans. Mr. Fowler's deputy is from Europe and his executive assistant is from England."

"Why do you find that significant?" Ginny asked.

"Because Americans have never experienced dark magic, even in the early days. Most wouldn't know a dark wizard from a street sign. I think they purposely recruited Americans and discouraged English and European-born wizards from applying for Auror."

That seemed like a bit of a stretch to Charlie. Was there some conspiracy theory that was undermining the Auror Division? It seemed unlikely. If the Secretary of Magic didn't believe there was a credible threat, then he might consider downsizing or even eliminating the division, but to sabotage an entire division sounded preposterous. It made absolutely no sense.

Diane, however, looked extremely interested in Miles's revelation. Charlie believed she was on to something. He looked at her questioningly. Her brow was furled. She was making mental notes, figuring out something in her head. She looked at Charlie and nodded. She wanted to talk to him in private before saying anything to the rest of them.

Charlie followed her into the kitchen.

"Miles may be on to something," Diane said. He started to shake his head. She touched his chest. "No, listen to this. I'll admit it's a stretch, but what if, I know it sounds crazy, what if either the director someone else high up like the deputy or the executive assistant is actually a dark wizard? They could control the propaganda and could protect the dark wizards, letting them take hold of the department while everyone else is totally clueless?" She closed her eyes and tried hard to make her thoughts clearer. "Once the Department is infiltrated, then before too long, the whole Department of Magic is made up of dark wizards, controlling every aspect of the wizarding world. Didn't something like that happen in England with the Ministry of Magic?" she asked. Her hand was still on Charlie's chest and she was patting it absently. He didn't seem to notice, but apparently Amanda did. She walked into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking from Charlie to Diane.

Diane removed her hand from Charlie's chest. "We were just discussing a theory," she said. "Something I wanted to run by Charlie for his opinion. Why? Are we missing something?"

Amanda reddened slightly. She didn't want Charlie or Diane to know she was jealous of Diane. Amanda had harbored a crush on Charlie even since they met. She wasn't going to act on it, but she didn't want anyone else taking him away either. She looked at Diane and turned around and walked out.

"That was odd," Charlie said.

Diane just smiled. She was perfectly aware of what was going on. It wouldn't hurt if Amanda thought something was going on between her and Charlie. She shrugged. "Yes, it was."

"So you're going to investigate your theory?" Charlie asked.

"Absolutely," she said. "I think there's something to it. I would love to talk to Miles's partner, but I don't think he'll talk to me. He isn't here and may be worried about repercussions. I think maybe the key is with the deputy director and or the executive assistant. What do you think?"

"Could be. Sounds outlandish, but you never know. Keep me informed, okay?" Charlie said. "And be careful. If what you're saying is true (and I'm not convinced it is), then there is a lot at stake here and you never know what anyone will do to protect their secret."

"I know and I will."


	11. Chapter 11 It is what it is

Based on characters created by JK Rowling

Chapter 11—It is What it Is

Harry and Ginny had two more weeks before they had to go back to England. Harry had taken a leave of absence with credit at Auror training. His superiors felt the experience he had in America would be positive and there was no need for him to forfeit credit during his absence. Ginny was more than ready to go home. She was dying in the heat. Her fair skin had burned, crisped, and burned again. The only thing that saved her was the sunburn balm that Charlie had got from his friends at the dragon preserve.

Harry trained new volunteers and came up with training for trainers, for those who would continue the training to new volunteers after Harry left. He set up a meeting with the Secretary of Magic to present the evidence that Miles had given him about dark magic activity. He couldn't guarantee any results, but it was worth a shot.

The day before they were scheduled to leave, Harry, Charlie, Ginny, and Travis made the meeting with Secretary Roundtree, and the deputy director of the Auror Division Collin Denton. Kenneth Fowler was unavailable to take the meeting. Without naming names, Harry presented the evidence he had. The deputy director dismissed the evidence out of hand. It was made up or doctored to make it appear somehow more sinister than it actually was. There was absolutely no proof of the existence of dark wizards acting out in America.

Harry was beginning to turn red with rage. What the bloody hell was wrong with this man?

"Mr. Denton," Harry began. "I know you have heard of Lord Voldemort."

"Of course," he said. "And I know that you killed him."

"He was an evil wizard, do you deny that?"

Charlie was about to believe that he was going to deny that Voldemort was a dark lord, but he nodded his head. "Of course, but when he was killed, didn't that release those who had been i_mperiused_?"

"Imperiused, yes, but true followers, no." Harry said.

"But you rounded all of them up and sent them to prison, or executed them."

Charlie thought that was an odd way of describing the death eaters' fate. Denton sounded accusatory. He wanted to rattle him some more.

"The bastards got what they deserved. They should have used the cruciatus curse on all of them. Nobody was executed, but they should have been. There were more who weren't imperiused, but you might think they were because they were mindless morons. Can you imagine someone believing that Tom Riddle had any super powers? He got lucky with a few showy spells and the 'oooh, I-can-speak-to-snakes' trick."

Harry grinned behind his hand and he shook with silent laughter. Ginny coughed to hide her laugh. They looked at Denton who was actually turning purple.

Denton drummed his fingers on the table, clearly irritated. "The dark lord's so called 'showy spells' petrified a whole nation with fear," he said, making his point. "His followers were dedicated to his genius. They weren't morons, as you called them, and they certainly weren't mindless. They were like thinkers who revered his innovative clear thinking path for a future dominated by pureblood wizards."

"Well," said Charlie leaning back, having made his point. "You sound like you had a little hard-on for him. You did, didn't you? Come on; tell me, do you get a little chubby when you think about him? Did he talk to your snake, huh?" He said in a taunting voice.

Denton jumped up and had his wand pulled out aimed at Charlie before Roundtree could blink. He was outraged. His whole body was rigid and his face flushed. At the same moment Ginny, Harry, and Charlie jumped away from the table and had their wands drawn as well and they were in a old west gunfight stance before Roundtree had a chance to react. He sat stupefied, and his entourage of assistants and under assistants, frozen in place. No one said a word. Denton was breathing heavily, but he had the good sense to look around the room to see the horrified expressions of the wizards from the Department of Magic glued to their chairs, too shocked to move.

Denton closed his eyes and smiled nervously. He coughed and lowered his wand. Charlie, Harry, and Ginny did not lower their wands until he had put his away.

"I'm afraid this meeting is over for me," he said overly politely. "I have another conference." He started to walk out the door.

"Denton," Secretary Roundtree said, obviously recovered, "I think you should stay." His voice sounded cold, authoritarian. "Sit down."

Charlie grinned at Harry and Ginny. They still had their wands at the ready.

Roundtree turned to one of his assistants and whispered something. The assistant jumped up and ran out of the room.

Everyone was watching Denton cautiously. He was sitting very stiff. His expression was guarded, but he had a look of arrogance. Charlie was afraid that he would disapparate, but before he could even think about it, four security wizards rushed into the room and sent a stunning spell freezing Denton in place.

Roundtree walked up to Denton and looked at him closely. "We've suspected something was going on for a long time. We kept getting conflicting reports, but Fowler insisted that there was nothing to them. He was basing is response from what ever Denton told him. I suspect that he had him imperiused. We're going to having a little talk with Denton before we hand him over to the Department of Magical Prisons."

"Mr. Secretary," Harry began. "He's not going to talk."

Roundtree grinned. "Don't you worry about that, son," he said. "We've got things up our sleeves that make the cruciatus curse look like an amusement park ride at _Wizard's World_. Take him away, boys." He looked extremely pleased. "He'll give us the names of all the dark wizards working for the Department. We know there are some."

Roundtree looked at the folder of information Harry had given to him earlier. He turned to his assistant. "Get me Miles Allen and Gertrudis Guerro. Bring them here." The assistant disappeared out the door.

Almost immediately Secretary Roundtree's assistant came back into the room followed by two nervous-looking Aurors. When Miles saw Charlie and Harry he relaxed and gave his partner, Gertrudis a sign that everything was going to be all right.

They were instructed to sit down, which they did, right in front of the Secretary. He looked at them for the longest time before he spoke. He tapped his finger on the surface of the desk, and then cleared this throat.

"There's a story my mama used to tell me when I was little," he began. "It seems there was a wizard village outside of Salem that enjoyed relative peace. They were well-protected from the muggles that surrounded them.

"One day, an evil wizard and his followers came in to the village. He gave the wizards one moon cycle to surrender all their babies ages one year and younger and give them to him to eat. The villagers were terrified, but for some reason couldn't use magic against him because the wizard had dark powers beyond their comprehension. They went to other wizard villages for help, but they were all too frightened to help.

"Finally, in desperation, the village elders went to the muggle village and begged them to take their children. They explained what they were facing and how dangerous it would be if the evil wizard found out that the muggles helped them. Still, despite the dangers, the muggles agreed and one night all the babies were secreted away into the muggle village. The elders of the village put a strong protective charm around the muggle village to hide them from the evil wizards.

"The evil wizard and his band became so angry when they learned what the wizards had done that they destroyed their entire village, killing every man, woman and child. Later, when the other wizards' villages found out what happened to the town, all the wizard towns banded together and killed the evil wizard and his followers. But the wizards didn't know anything about the babies and just assumed that no one had been spared.

"The muggles waited for the wizards to return for their children, but they never did. The muggles raised the babies as their own and protected them from strangers who came to town. They were afraid the strangers would see the children doing magic and think they were devils worshippers.

"Many years passed, and the children grew happy and healthy with their adoptive parents. One day a wizard from another village happened to come to the muggle village and discovered the magic children. He was amazed how much the children were loved and protected. He told the elders of the village that he wanted to take the children with him so they could be raised by wizards. The parents didn't trust the wizard and went to see the wizard village for themselves. They found the village full of wizards who were good and kind. Reluctantly, they gave the children to the wizards but made them promise that they could visit them from time to time and the wizards agreed.

"They were so sad to see their little children go, but they knew that they should be raised by their own kind.

"They established harvest festivals so that the muggles and the wizards could visit together and see their children. This practice went on for many, many years until all the wizard children grew old and died.

"The wizard village elders made a proclamation that because of the kindness and generosity that the muggles had shown with total disregard for their own safety, it was the wizards' creed to always help and protect muggles no matter what."

The Secretary let his words sink in. "For the record: We haven't been doing our job, our commitment to our muggle friends. I take total responsibility for that and I make this pledge to all of you here, I will not let that happen again. The Auror Division is now responsible for the protection of muggles as well as wizards, and with everything in my power, I will make sure that you have the resources to do that job. As of this moment, Kenneth Fowler is no longer the Director of the Auror Division. As of right now, I am appointing you, Miles Allen and Gertrudis Guerro as co-directors. You come under my direct authority and answer only to me. I want Fowler and his executive assistant gone by the time I get to their office."

Movement was instantaneous. Everyone seemed to jump up at once.

"I want to read all your reports, Trudy. Have them ready for me." Gertrudis and Miles jumped up and ran from the room, stopping long enough to shake the Secretary's hand, thanking him. Miles ran to Harry, Ginny, and Charlie and hugged them all. Harry, Ginny, and Charlie were grinning.

"Well done!" said Harry. He shook the Secretary's hand.

"Took me long enough." He said shaking his head. "What the hell was wrong with me? I didn't want to believe, but, it is what it is. We'll take care of it and set it right. I doubt we can wipe out the dark arts, but we sure as hell are going to clean up the Department of Magic.

"Gentlemen, lady, if you'll excuse me I've got work to do."

He told his assistant to contact the news media, he had an important announcement that he wanted to get got immediately. "Call that Diane Gentry reporter. She deserves an exclusive interview. And contact the muggle president and set up an appointment."

Harry, Ginny, and Charlie were happy to leave the Department of Magic under these circumstances. Disapparating in the conference room, they apparated to Travis's back door. Excitedly, they walked into the kitchen. Travis was cooking dinner and looked up in surprise.

"You're back earlier than I thought. How'd it go?"

"You're not going to believe what happened," Charlie said. The three of them started talking at once, telling an astounded Travis what happened at the Department of Magic.

"No shit?" he said, incredulously. "That's wonderful news. How'd it happen?"

"My big brother," Ginny said proudly. "He brought out the death eater in the deputy director of the Auror Division. He was incredible."

"He was pissing me off," Charlie said. "That's all."

"He was wonderful." Ginny insisted and Harry nodded his approval.

"He was brilliant." Harry agreed.

Charlie shook his head. He didn't want to take any credit for anything. Obviously the Secretary was already aware that something was wrong, he just got lucky.

The group anxiously waited to hear from Diane after her interview. Charlie was sure that she would come over as soon as she could.

Amanda came by happily exclaiming the changes in the Department. She said she was volunteering for Auror and she was sure that the new director, her friend Miles would let her in. She was glad that she had received the training from Harry; that would give her the edge.

"How many dark wizards have they found at the Department? I guess it's too soon," Charlie said.

"No! That's the crazy part. Whatever the security branch used on Deputy Director Denton, really worked in a hurry. He sang like a bird. There were something like fifty wizards who were snatched up out of their desks, including some high officials. You know about the executive assistant to Fowler, right?"

They nodded. "Roundtree fired him." Harry said.

"Yeah, and it turns out he is a dark wizard, former death eater. He came over here when the Division was established. Apparently he was a spy for Voldemort. There was some big plan going on to infiltrate the Department so they could take over completely within 10 years. Voldemort was expecting to have a stronghold in America. Fortunately for us, he died before that could happen. But the dream is still alive, apparently." Amanda said.

Suddenly there were about a hundred owls swooped in and dropped off scrolls. All were addressed to Harry Potter, and they were requests for interviews from some the most prominent wizard newspapers.

"Now, they're interested," said Ginny dryly.

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon talking to the press. He was, as always polite, and answered there questions for the second time. He repeated the points he had made at his first press meet when he arrived in America a short time ago. He told them that he was confident that the Ministry of Magic would work closely with the Department of Magic with their new strategy. Yes, he was very pleased that the Secretary had reestablished the wizards' creed.

"Well," he said much later, after the reporters had gone, "I feel a lot better about us leaving soon. I don't feel like we're leaving anything hanging."

Ginny agreed. "It's been a great experience."

"Except for the sun burn, eh sis?" Charlie kidded.

"Absolutely. And is it always this damn hot?" she wondered aloud.

Travis, Charlie, and Amanda laughed and said together, "No, it gets hotter. Wait'll it warms up."

They celebrated that night. The two Tex's came over and so did all the witches and wizards Harry trained. It was a happy celebration.

Charlie was concerned about Diane. She had not gotten in touch with him, nor had she responded to his messages. She asked Amanda if she had seen her at the Department of Magic, and she replied that she saw her with the Secretary earlier in the evening. It was quite late when Charlie decided to go to her house and check up on her. Harry and Travis offered to go with him, but he turned them down. She was probably working on her story for the next day.

Charlie apparated at her front door. The lights around her apartment were off and there were no lights on in the apartment. He knocked on the door, and the door creaked open.

"Diane?" he called out. He pulled out his wand and pushed open the door further. "_Lumo_s," he said, and the end of his wand became lit. Inside the house, there looked like there had been a struggle. Furniture was knocked over. It was eerily quiet.

Oh God, he thought, as he made his way into Diane's bedroom. "Diane?" he called out again, praying that she would answer him. But it was so quiet he could hear his shallow breathing.

"Hello, Charlie," said a seductive voice behind him. He turned around, wand at the ready, but it was knocked out of his hand. "It's been a long time."

He stood facing Muireann Angharad. "Charlie Weasley. Why do you always hurt the ones who love you?" she purred.

She was still beautiful, sexy and pure evil. "I remember the night we spent together. It was the best I ever had, and then you turned me over to the dementors. You were a very bad boy."

She slinked up to him and pressed her body into his. "But that's your little secret, isn't it? You never told them you had me so good. I still think about you. I admit when Ares makes love to me, sometimes I imagine it's you." She touched herself and smiled.

"Where's Diane?" Charlie asked. He was shaking. He didn't know if it was from anger or fear. They had Diane. She was going to punish him by hurting her.

"Don't worry your cute little ginger head about that now. We'll see her later. Ares has some big plans for her right now. He's a little pissed off about what she wrote about him. He always was the sensitive type. Me? I never did care what people thought. Except for you. You had me fooled. I'm trying to move past it, you know, get on with my life, but I have a few more things to do before I can totally forgive you." She caressed his cheek then felt his chest and her arms slid down to his crotch. She caressed him and moaned with pleasure.

"If you want to fuck, Muriann, I'm really not in the mood," he said flippantly.

She slapped him across the face. Hard.

"Been working out, I see." He rubbed his cheek.

"Forget about your girlfriend, Weasley?" she said bitterly. "You don't think for one moment that I'd let her live, do you? Besides the triplets are so looking forward for their turn."

That shut him up. He was angry now, not scared, but really pissed off. He was going to kill her, and he might even enjoy doing it. "Where is she?"

"I said later. Are you deaf?" she said, getting angry herself. "We'll go there in a minute. I just wanted to say hello before we joined the others. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him. "That was nice wasn't it? See, we can be friends again."

Charlie was not going to play along. He knew she would kill him after she tortured him. She was going to make him watch whatever they decided to do to Diane. He was trapped. But he decided he wasn't going to die without a fight.


	12. Chapter 12 Muireann's Revenge

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 12—Muireann's Revenge

"You know, I didn't recognize you at the funeral," Charlie said. "You've really changed. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, but what happened? Did you alter your appearance after the war?"

"Azkaban will do that to you," she said bitterly, speaking of the prison where she was sent after her arrest.

"But enough about me. Do you love her, Charlie?" Muireann asked tilting her head to one side. "She loves you, but you have that talent, don't you? You make them love you and all the while you don't love them back. You know, she was pretty good at occlumency. Took me forever, but I found it. She loves you. She hurt you one time, but you'll be happy to know that she does regret it."

He looked bored, but his heart was racing. He was going to kill her, he promised himself.

"And do you know what else I found out? That little muggle bitch you fucked? What was her name? Oh, yes, Jessica. She lost your baby." She sneered.

Charlie got real still. He forced himself not to react. They had gotten to Jessica. Was she really pregnant or was Muireann just torturing him? "She was done with me anyway," he said callously.

"You'll be happy to know that they're together now. Mother and son. She didn't die well, though, Charlie. The triplets loved her, but you know how messy they can get. Even Ares who normally wouldn't touch a muggle or Mudblood had to have some that sweet ass. And he does have a tendency to get carried away."

"Are you trying to turn me on?" Charlie said in bold voice "Because it ain't happening."

The smirk on her face fell for an instant. She was trying to get a rise out of him, but he refused to play along.

"Fine, have it your way. I'm just trying to make conversation. If you don't want to cooperate, I don't care." She flicked her wand, "_Crucio_," she spat, and Charlie doubled over in excruciating pain.

When she released the curse, she said. "I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

Charlie laughed at her. "Look, bitch, either kill me now or take me to Diane. You're boring me."

She hit him again with the cruciatus curse, but he refused to cry out. It took everything he had, but he didn't say a word. He wasn't going to taunt her this time either. He was in so much pain, it was too hard for him to concentrate and focus. It would quit soon when she realized he wasn't going to cry out.

"Okay," he said finally. He was out of breath. The pain was incredible. She released him and he sank down, panting. He looked up at her. For a split second, she had lost the evil gleam in her eyes. She looked at him, almost with a touch of mercy, but she caught herself. Charlie saw her expression but pretended not to notice.

"I'm surprised you didn't cry out, Charlie. I remember you were always quite vocal." She smiled wickedly.

"That's a good one, Muireann. I'm all flattered that you thought I was so damn good, but I think you're confusing me with the thousands of other men you screwed." He said.

"That hurt," she pouted.

"Well, you have to admit you were kind of easy back then. But I'm sure your skank days are over and that you've found true." Charlie said, wishing he could take the words back immediately after the spoke them. When was he going to learn to shut up?

"Do you just want me to kill you now?" she asked, irritably.

"No, I don't. I want you to take me where you have Diane" He paused. "Please."

"Ah, the magic word. Okay, Charlie, I'll take you to your precious Diane now. I can't guarantee what she looks like; the boys have had her for quite a while."

She grabbed his arm and they disapparated.

Charlie found himself in what looked like a huge warehouse. The windows were painted over and most of the overhead lights were blinking or had gone out. Then he saw her. She was body-bound to a chair in the middle of the room. Her head was down and her hair was tangled and matted with blood. She had bite marks on her face and arms, and her blood was dripping to the floor.

Charlie broke away from Muireann and ran to her. Muireann let him go. She watched him as he knelt down close to her. Gently, he tilted her head back. Her face was battered and swollen. Her eyes were closed.

"Diane?" he whispered. She didn't move. "Diane?" he repeated, holding his breath.

She slowly opened her eyes. She saw him and smiled. "Hey," she said weakly. "Are you here to rescue me? I was worried there for a while."

He nodded. He smoothed the hair out of her face. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, kissing her matted hair.

She smiled and shook her head. "It's not your fault."

Of course it was his fault, he thought angrily to himself. He's the one who made her write the stories about the dark wizards. She owed him a favor. What had she done to him that was so bad that she had to go through this? He choked up. "I'm so sorry," he repeated thickly.

"Charlie," her voice was barely audible. "If you get the chance, please kill that bitch for me."

"I promise."

"How touching," said a man's voice from behind him. It was Ares. He stood up and turned around. He still didn't recognize the dark wizard in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"I am Ares."

"I know that. What's your real name? Do I know you?" He was being terribly brave for a man that was about to die. "Are you a death eater?"

"Of course I am; the Dark Lord sent me to Albania and he died before I could get to him. I was his most loyal follower."

He was about to get smart mouthed with him, but he thought better of it. He wouldn't have hesitated for a second, but he had Diane to consider. If he and Diane were going to get out of this mess, and he was pretty sure they wouldn't, he'd have to think clearly.

He was absolutely defenseless. Muireann had his wand. He was seriously outnumbered. There were shadowed figures outlining the perimeter of the warehouse. There had to be fifty to a hundred wizards, some of them, he was sure, escaped from the sweep of the Department of Magic, and they must be pissed off now that they were forced underground again. If there was any chance to be rescued—

_Rescued! Shit! _He had his 'Rescue Ranger' coin! Travis had given everyone in the Society a coin. It had been his pocket all this time and he had completely forgotten about it. His only wish was that someone else in the Society was carrying theirs. Some fucking hero, you are, Charlie, he said to himself. "Stupid," he said aloud

Ares raised an eyebrow. He sent a cruciatus curse at Charlie. It was brief, but it still knocked him off his feet.

"I hope we have your attention now," Ares said, sardonically.

"Absolutely. Won't happen again." He slipped his hands into his pockets. He found the coin and pressed on it hard. That's all he could do. He hoped he could stand them off until the good guys showed up, they would be all right. He tried to signal to Diane that help was on the way, but she had slipped into unconsciousness.

"Get your hands out of your pockets," Ares commanded gruffly.

"Sorry. Sorry." He showed Ares his hands. "No weapon, just a nervous gesture." He held his hands up until Ares knocked them down.

Charlie was afraid the Ares or one of his goons was going to search his pockets, but he didn't. He prayed that someone would show up, even as a distraction would help. He didn't know how long it would take, if indeed someone got his signal. He had to play along and he must protect Diane. She would not be able to fight off the dark wizards and the strain of what she just went through may kill her. And where were Muireann and the triplets? He wanted to know where everyone was before he got too comfortable.

Unfortunately, his question was answered quickly. Three pallid figures came from out of the shadows. They were tall and thin. The middle triplet looked a little worse for wear; apparently he had been the one that Charlie hexed with the '_Sectumsempra' _spell. Racing through his mind were scenarios on how to fight them, if given the opportunity. How does one kill a vampire? Would the killing curse work? He was mentally going through the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks he had at Hogwarts, but he couldn't remember. Charlie eyed the vampires. He could take them physically, or at least get a few punches in. The one hundred surrounding him worried him for a bit, but maybe most of them were new recruits and didn't have a lot of experience fighting. Now, if he had his wand, he knew he could do some damage before he was killed. After all, he was a dragon wrangler, and he knew plenty of good spells that would take down a dragon. It must be easier to take down an army of fighting wizards than a fully grown nesting dragon.

The vampires came closer to him and Diane. They had a hungry gleam in their eyes. The middle one looked especially deadly. Apparently he was out for revenge.

Come on, come on, come on, come on, Charlie thought. Were they going to be rescued? Where were they?

Ares let out an exasperated sigh. "Well?" he said to the vampires. "What are you waiting for? "

The vampires ignored him. Charlie saw the hint of hesitation. So, he thought. The Sectumsempra spell was a good one. If he could only hit them all at once with the spell, then he was sure he could knock them out. _Right, dickhead, just as soon you shit your wand out of your ass, you'll be all set._

Two of the vampires grabbed Charlie's arms and held him as the middle came closer with his mouth open and teeth bared. His breath was foul; it smelled of rotting flesh and blood. Charlie struggled and managed to kick the vampire hard. He staggered backward, but recovered quickly and started toward him again. Charlie continued to fight back. As wiry as the vampires were, they were very strong.

Suddenly, there a thunderous noise and it seemed like a hundred wizards apparated on the spot. The vampires, startled by the noise, let go of Charlie for a split second, but it was enough for him to wrestle himself away from them.

The response from the army of dark wizards was one of complete confusion. They weren't sure if they were supposed to fight or watch. Ares and Muireann's reactions were quicker, and they sent spells into the crowd of Society wizards. He saw Travis and Amanda as they came running to him.

"Help Diane!" he shouted.

Travis smiled and nodded. He was clearly nervous but also excited. "I brought you your spare wand. I had a hunch you may need it."

Charlie grinned as he took the wand. "Thanks!" he yelled amid the noise and confusion.

Harry and Ginny were by his side. Ginny looked relieved that he was okay. She grinned at him and then ran off to fight.

The only dark wizards that were really fighting were the triplets, Ares and Muireann. Most of the new recruits were too inexperienced to fight in a real battle. The Society members had the advantage because of the training they received. Some of the dark wizards took a stand and fought, but many of them turned and ran away. Being a dark wizard looked better on parchment that in real life where the threat of real death or injury was a distinct possibility. Many more gave up when they were hit by hexes.

Harry, Ginny, and Charlie were the only ones with actual combat experience, so they went after the triplets, Ares, and Muireann. Charlie was able to use the Sectumsempra spell simultaneously on the three, and he was right to assume it was the best spell to use against a vampire. The slashes in their bodies drained them of their blood quickly. Apparently vampirism was a form of anemia where the body lost massive amounts of blood and needed to be replenished. They were already in a weakened state from lack of blood, so being slashed with an invisible sword finished them off quickly. He didn't take the time to see if they were dead or not. He didn't care. He wanted Muireann next.

He made sure that Diane was no longer in harm's way. She had been untied and removed. He didn't want to have to worry about her right now.

As he made his way through the battling wizards, he saw Joanna and Jordan chasing after a group of inexperienced dark wizards. They were doing all right on their own, so he continued on, looking for Muireann and Ares. They had positioned themselves in the middle of a protective group of dark wizards; most of whom were those former Department of Magic wizards who had run away after the Secretary of Magic had expunged them. Apparently, more had been summoned after the Society wizards showed up. Harry and Ginny were distracted by the new group and were battling them.

He saw Ares and Muireann. They looked like they were ready to disapparate, but Charlie shot a stunning spell that hit Muireann. Ares looked at him and Muireann for a second, then disapparated, leaving Muireann behind. She recovered and made a stand to do battle. She shot a cruciatus curse at him, which he dodged. She was forming the killing curse on her lips, but Charlie hit her with another stunning spell. It knocked her backward and she fell. She held on to her wand, but just barely. Charlie hit her again with a stunning spell, but it was a stunning spell he used on dragons and she was picked up and thrown about thirty feet. She landed hard, hitting her head on a concrete divider. She didn't move after that.

By the time Charlie made it back to the middle of the battle field, there wasn't much left to fight. The experienced dark wizards were either badly injured or had disapparated, and only a few remained to fight. There were no signs of the younger recruits; they had fled or were disarmed and were held at wand point by Aurors who had apparated with Miles and Gertrudis and were in the process of being arrested.

Finally, the battle was over. The dark wizards had been defeated this time. The members of the Society, most of whom were rookies, cheered triumphantly. Harry, Ginny, and Charlie stood before them and saluted their bravery. They were amazing! The war was not over, Harry told them, but the battle was won.

Amazingly, there was not a single casualty. The same could not be said from the other side. The triplets and Muireann were dead; her skull crushed by the concrete wall. Their bodies was left by those who fled. Charlie looked at her body for a long time without emotion. He didn't feel anything; not pity, remorse or guilt. He lived up to his promise he made to Diane; the bitch was dead. He went through her robes and picked up his own wand.

Travis walked up to him and put his arm around him. Charlie smiled at him, but his smile froze when he looked into his face and saw his expression.

"You were great, Travis. I'm proud of you." Charlie said, comforting his friend. "Is Amanda okay?" He asked, looking around for her.

"She's fine," he said. He hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked.

"Charlie, Diane's dead."

Charlie looked at him. "No, she's just badly injured."

"She was already dead when Amanda got to her. I'm so sorry. I know she was your friend." Travis said, his eyes welling with tears.

Joanna and Jordan were suddenly at his side. He looked at them and then he turned to find Amanda. She saw him standing in the back of the room alone. When she saw him coming toward her, she stiffened. Would he blame her? She wondered as she watched him come nearer.

When she got to Diane and untied her, she slumped over. She was already dead. She died minutes earlier, she supposed. She couldn't have told Charlie because he was in the middle of the battle and did not need any more distractions. She had taken Diane's body to a quiet place away from everyone.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry," she said as he approached her. She was crying. Charlie put his arms around her as she wept, comforting her. His stoic expression frightened her, but she clung to him.

"Where'd you take her?" he asked, hoarsely. He cleared his throat. She took his hand and walked him into the darken room where Diane lay. She looked peaceful at last. Her face was battered and bruised. Amanda had obviously cleaned off the blood that had flowed from her face and arms. She had a slight smile on her lips and her eyes were closed.

He stared at her. He sat down on the floor next to her and smoothed her hair away from her face. Then he kissed her. "I got the bitch," he whispered in her ear. He kissed her again and got up.

Amanda watched him closely. He wasn't crying or showing any emotion at all. He needed to mourn; to grieve, but he didn't. He thanked her for cleaning her up and walked away to join Harry and Ginny and the others.

Ginny hugged him when she saw him. He hugged her back. "Good job." He said.

"That certainly was exciting," Ginny said. "This is a good bunch to have on our side," she said of the warriors.

Charlie agreed. He walked up to Travis and told him that he needed to go around and make sure that everyone was all right. He needed to offer words of support to the brave warriors. Travis was commander of the fighters, they needed to see him and hear from him. That's the way armies are run, he told him. They walked around together and congratulated everyone on their bravery and fighting spirit. Charlie personally thanked them for saving his life.

"I thought it was all over," he said. "And it took me the longest time to remember I had the coin in my pocket. I felt like an idiot when I realized that I had it all the time. Thank you for inventing it. You saved my life," he said to Travis.

Several of the fighters had sustained minor injuries, mostly from falling debris from poorly aimed spells. They were being ministered to and would proudly display their wounds tomorrow. They considered the cuts and bruises to be badges of honor.

They cleaned up the remnants of the battle. The Aurors took the prisoners away, and slowly everyone started disapparating, ready to celebrate the victory.

Charlie made arrangements for Diane's body to be taken away for burial. He contacted her magazine and told them about what happened. The editor was caught completely off guard. He had just read the interview with the Secretary of Magic and was going to make it a cover story for the next edition. He promised that he would continue to publish articles about the dark arts. He thanked him for letting him know about Diane.

They went back to Travis's house. Harry and Ginny discussed whether or not they would leave today (it was very very late or very very early, depending on one's point of view). Ginny was ready to go, but if Harry wanted to stay, she thought that was a good idea. But Harry needed to go back to his classes. He felt that they were at a good place and knew that the Society of Fred would continue to grow as the Department of Magic's new policy became more widespread. There would be more reports of dark wizard activity since the Department of Magic no longer discounted their activity as false.

Travis was still grieving over Diane and he couldn't understand why Charlie wasn't. He had been so close to Diane. They were lovers. What was wrong with Charlie, he asked himself. He was beginning to feel resentment and that upset him. He had to confront Charlie about it but decided to wait until Harry and Ginny left.

Harry and Ginny went upstairs to bed to try to get some rest before their trip. Charlie and the rest's adrenalin level was still high and he was waiting for the crash so he could get some sleep. He poured drinks for everyone and toasted the battle. He raised his glass in honor of those who were wounded and to Diane who gave her life for the cause.

"To Diane," he said as he raised his glass once again.


	13. Chapter 13 The Memorial

_Based on characters created by J. K. Rowling_

Chapter 13—The Memorial

Charlie had been drinking pretty steadily for the past two hours. Travis was watching him. He was waiting to get a reaction from him about Diane's death. He was quiet; moody and surly were two descriptions that could be used to describe Charlie. Travis wanted to talk to him about Diane, but he didn't know how to approach the subject. Amanda was just as concerned, and she was starting to be more confidence in her approach.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here," she started.

He looked at her inquisitively. "Talk about what?" He took another shot of mescal. He made a face and shook his head violently; his brain rejecting the taste of the liquor. He had been doing that for two hours as well.

"Diane," she said plainly and Travis winced.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you're grieving and you need an outlet." She said.

"So you think that just because I'm not sitting in ashes wearing a sack cloth that I'm not grieving enough for you? What do you want me to do, Amanda? How do you want me to act? Do you want me to tear my clothes? "She is gone and there is nothing I can do to bring her back."

"But—" He cut her off.

"I am going to tell you this one time and I'm not going to say it again. This is a war. It's good versus evil. Do I wish Diane was still alive? You bet your ass I do. Do I feel responsible for her death? Yes, I do. I asked her to write about the dark wizards; I asked her to become vulnerable. But she chose this path. And in my way of thinking, she died a hero. She made the ultimate sacrifice.

"I felt the same way when you were almost killed. The very same. There is no difference in my mind in the sacrifices you both made. And you are both heroes, and I am humbled by both of your commitments. I will do everything within my power to ensure that the sacrifices you both made will not have been in vain. The same goes for those brave warriors who were injured today."

Amanda's face reddened. She watched Charlie get up and walk away from her. She felt small. She knew that he was grieving in his own way and she felt ashamed that she didn't think he cared.

Charlie avoided Travis and Amanda for most of the day. Harry and Ginny left around noon and he saw them off at the Department of Magic. The three of them, along with Travis briefed the Secretary on the battle and Miles stated that the Aurors captured over sixty dark wizards. He was also briefed on the casualties and became very quiet when he was told that Diane had died. He asked about the memorial service and asked if he would be allowed to make a brief statement at the service. Charlie told him that would be nice. He told him the time and place. It was going to be the following day at 10 AM. The Secretary said that he would arrange a burial with full honors for her. Charlie told him that she would have liked that.

Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes. Ginny cried and hugged her brother tightly. She would miss him, she told him. Harry shook his hand. He shook Travis's hand and told him how proud he was of him.

"Keep me up to date on your progress with recruiting." He said to Travis.

"I will. And thank you so much for everything."

Charlie watched his sister and Harry leave then turned to Travis.

"I'll meet you back at the house in a couple of hours," he said, and then he turned and walked away.

He apparated outside Jessica's apartment building. He walked up to the apartment door, hesitated for a moment and knocked loudly on the door. He held his breath, afraid of what he wouldn't see. Muireann had taunted him about Jessica. Did she lie just to torture him? After a few seconds, the door opened. He let out an audible sigh.

"Hi," he said uncertainly.

Jessica stood at the door. There was a mixture of pleasure followed by indifference. "What do you want?" she asked folding her arms across her breasts.

"Uh, I just wanted to see if you were all right." He said.

She leaned out the door. "Did you bring any wizard photographers with you?" During one of Charlie's night time visits to Jessica, a celebrity photographer followed him to her house and took a rather explicit picture of the two of them together, which was featured on the cover of the magazine. Charlie tried to hide the magazine from her, but she found out about it. After a big fight, she told him she never wanted to see him again. And until that moment, he had stayed away.

"No," he laughed nervously. "I won't stay; I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Okay. I'm fine. Good bye." She started to close the door in his face, but he grabbed the door.

"I know this is going to sound strange, Jessica, but I need to ask you something." He said, holding on to the door. He shook his head. "No, never mind. I'm sorry I bothered you." He turned around to leave.

"Wait," she said. "Come on in." Her face softened.

He followed her into her apartment and closed the door. "You look good," he said.

"Have a seat," she said. He waited until she sat down before he sat down in a chair across from her.

"Is everything all right, Charlie?"

He nodded, distracted. He was so relieved that she was alive, he couldn't think of anything to say to her that would justify him being there.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure."

She went into the kitchen and brought him back a beer.

"Thanks," he said, quietly.

"You sure you're all right?"

He put the bottle to his lip then lowered it. "Absolutely," he said.

They stared at each other for a whole minute.

"You're creeping me out, Weasley," she said.

He grinned. "Sorry. I should go."

"What's going on? Did you think you'd come over here and talk me into having mad crazy sex with you for old times' sake?" she asked, playfully.

He laughed. "It was worth a shot," he said.

She laughed at that. "I kind of miss you sometimes."

"Me, too."

"Want to tell me now why you're here?" she asked, more relaxed.

"Someone told me something and I wanted to see for myself." He said.

"And what was that?"

He laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He took a long drink from his beer.

"Try me."

"Okay. Someone told me you were dead."

That surprised her. She sat upright and looked at him in surprise. "That's odd. Why would someone tell you that?"

"Long story, but she was trying to get to me."

She sat up straighter. "Damn, that was mean."

"She was pretty much of a bitch." Charlie smiled reassuringly.

"Well, you can tell her to kiss your ass," Jessica said.

"Yeah, I'll do that," He said, taking another drink. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Me too," she said spiritedly.

He kept staring at her.

"Charlie?"

"I'm sorry." His mind was conflicted. Should he even ask if she had been pregnant? Charlie was not the fatherly type. He didn't want children; didn't especially like them, but he felt he had to know. Of course, anyone who would lie about torture and death, would probably also lie about a baby.

"I want to ask you something and it's going to sound weird. Okay?"

"You've got my attention."

"Shit, I don't even know how to say this."

"Come out with it, Charlie." She prodded.

He held his breath. "Were you pregnant when we broke up?"

"What?! No!" she stood up. "Hell no. Why would you ask me such a thing?"

"Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Was it the same person that said I was dead?"

He nodded. "Yeah and that you lost the baby"

"God," Jessica said. "She is a bitch. She must really hate you."

"You have no idea."

"You really should stay away from that freak."

"Oh, I will." He nodded. He put the bottle down on the table next to him. "Well, if I can't talk you in having mad crazy sex with me for old times' sake, I'd better leave."

Jessica laughed heartily. She stood up with him and followed him to the door. He kissed her sweetly. "She nodded. "Take care of yourself, Charlie."

"You too."

"Charlie?"

He paused.

"You know it was just the whole wizard thing I couldn't relate to," Jessica said.

"I know. I put you through a lot of shit that you didn't deserve." He pushed a strand of hand behind her ear.

"Maybe one day—" she cut herself off.

"You know where to find me," he said. He turned around and walked away.

Travis was waiting for him when he arrived back at the house. The house was beginning to fill up Society members, anxious to recount the battle. They were charged up and were ready to continue the fight.

Charlie explained that there weren't always going to be battles or obvious fighting, but to always be vigilant. He was happy that the Department of Magic would be assuming a pro-active role, and that the Society of Fred would be used as support. But evil was still out there.

Charlie told Travis that he would be moving back to the preserve after the memorial service. He needed to get back to work. He was beginning to feel guilty about leaving the work to his mates. The time was right and he was confident that Travis would be a good leader.

The next day, Travis and Charlie got up early. They were to meet at the memorial place where Diane was to be buried in less than two hours. Jordan and Joanna dropped by and wanted to travel with Charlie. Joanna was extremely upset. She had never liked or trusted Diane. She wanted to let Charlie know that she had changed her mind.

"I didn't trust her either, but I think she redeemed herself." Charlie said.

"She sure did. God! I wish she hadn't died."

"Yeah," Charlie nodded sadly.

Joanna smiled and kissed Charlie. "I love you."

"I love you, too, babe."

The memorial service was beautiful. The Secretary of Magic spoke eloquently about Diane and how her desire for the truth helped him open his eyes to the reality of the presence of the dark arts. She died a true hero and should be honored. The Secretary told the mourners that he was erecting a memorial in her honor at the Department of Magic, and has declared this day an official day of mourning.

Diane's editor spoke next. He commented on how she had become more committed to helping wizards and muggles as well. Her passion, he told them was getting out the truth, and for that she was martyred. He assured the mourners that he would continue the fight.

There was thunderous applause at the end of the ceremony. Everyone jumped to their feet and applauded her life and her work. Everyone raised their wands and shot out stars honoring her memory.

Afterward, the Society members met at Travis's house for a wake. There was a lot of toasting and memories shared of Diane's articles. Some picked on Charlie because at first she seemed to have a vendetta against Charlie. She wrote scandalous articles about his womanizing, his muggle girlfriends, the secret society and finally the rape allegation against him when he was in Romania. Charlie laughed them off and said he was glad that she was finally on his side. She was the only reporter that ever got it right.

The wake lasted until almost dawn. There were more toasts and stories until they ran out of things to say. Jordan and Joanna stayed until everyone else had gone and planned to spend the weekend with Travis.

Charlie had already packed his gear and was ready to go back to the preserve. Travis invited him to move in permanently, and he said he would think about it. He needed to live in the bunk house close to the dragons, but maybe during quidditch season. He had been thinking seriously about getting his own place. He appreciated the offer. Travis was a good friend and he was an excellent cook, so he was seriously considering the move. He told Travis he'd like to help out with the Society whenever and where ever he could.

Before Charlie left for the preserve, he went to the place where Diane was interned. He stood alone staring at her monument. He magicked a single rose and placed it on her grave. Away from the others, he wept for her. The tears that no one else would see flowed freely and unashamedly. He was too late to save her. She trusted him and waited for him and he let her die. He told her he was sorry and he was proud of her.

"I miss you, Diane," he said quietly and then walked away.


End file.
